
Book ^ u / '"C 'J 



^ 

^ 



/ 




CALIFORNIA 



ITS P RODUCTS 
RES OURCES 
INDUSTRIES and 
ATTRACTIONS 



WHAT IT OFFERS THE IMMIGRANT, 
HOMESEEKER, INVESTOR, and TOURIST 



: Published by the ; 



CALIFORNIA LEWIS AND CLARK 
EXPOSITION COMMISSION 



COMMISSION 



GOV. GEO. C. PARDEE, Commissioner 

J. A. FILCHER, FRANK WIGGINS. - - Deputy Commissioners 



EDITED BY T. G. DANIELLS 



NOTE.— The illustration on the cover of this book is a reproduction of an 
oil painting entitled " California," by Raschin. It is used here through the 
courtesy of the owner, Mr. Charles Newman, Russ House, San Francisco, Cal. 



SACKAMENTO 

W. W. SHANNON - - SUPERINTENDENT STATE PRINTING 

1905 



CONTENTS. 



PREFACE - - - - 

HISTORICAL SKETCH 

TOPOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 
CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA . - - - 
THE TRIUMPH OF IRRIGATION - 
THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA 
THE OIL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA 
AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA - 
HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA - 
ORANGE-GROWING IN CALIFORNIA - - 
ORANGES IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS - 
THE OLIVE IN CALIFORNIA - - - - 
VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA - - - 
RAISIN-GROWING IN CALIFORNIA - - 
THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA - - - - 
THE FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA 
THE LUMBER INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA 
THE FISHES OF CALIFORNIA 
CATTLE-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA 
DAIRY INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA - 
POULTRY-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA - 
THE HONEY INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA 
THE BEET -SUGAR INDUSTRY OF CALI- 
FORNIA 

COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS 

OF CALIFORNIA 

MANUFACTURES OF CALIFORNIA - 
BANKS AND BANKING ----- 

CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOLS 

MORAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN CALI- 
FORNIA - - - 

THE OUTDOOR LIFE OF CALIFORNIA 
CALIFORNIA'S HEALTH RESORTS - - 

TRAVELING IN CALIFORNIA 

PAST AND PRESENT OF THE FRANCISCAN 
MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA - - - - 

CALIFORNIA'S CALL TO THE IMMIGRANT 

CALIFORNIA AT ST. LOUIS - - - - 



Pace. 
3 



Carrie J. Pratt 
J. A . Filcher 
X. P. Chipman 
Wm. E. Smythe - 
Lewis E. Anburii - 
Dr. a T. Deane - 
Arthur R. Briggx - 
E. J. Wicki>on 
A. H. Naftzger 
J. Parker Mliitnej/ 
George C. Roeding - 
Charles Ilundschu 

D. D. Allison - 
George C. Roeding 
W. H. 3fills - 

E. J. Holt - 
David Starr Jordan 
Peter J. Shields - 
Arthur R. Briggs - 
L. C. Byce - 
George L. Emerson - 

James M. Tai/hir 



5 
10 



^. 



41 
46 
53 

71 

75 

80 

86 

93 

99 

105 

113 

121 

127 

IM 

138 

143 

145 



Jawes D. Phelau 


14! » 


Charles E. Bancroft - 


- 157 


J. A'. Lynch 


161 


Robert Furlong - 


- 168 


Rev. Charles R. lirown - 


174 


]\'illia)n Greer Harrison 


- 181 


A.J. Wells - 


187 


Elwyn IToffman - 


- 195 


J. R. Knowland 


203 


John P. Irish 


- 212 



215 



AUG 14jy^« 



^m 



PREFACE. 



The purpose of this book is to disseminate accurate information 
regarding California. It is to give those who seek enlightenment 
facts and figures that in every instance may be verified upon per- 
sonal investigation. There is no purpose in exaggerating the 
resources and attractions of such a marvelous land as California. 
One of the contributors to these pages writes : "I have told every- 
thing just as I would want it told me if I had in view a change of 
location. The truth is plenty good enough as to anything con- 
cerning California." That spirit, it is trusted, has been carried 
out in every paragraph and sentence of the book. Each subject 
has been treated by one who has particular knowledge of it and 
who has undertaken the task through love of his State and a desire 
to render it a service ; and also, possibly, because of a feeling that 
something which may have gone before needs more careful treat- 
ment. Some of the contributors are of national renown; all are 
recognized in California as particularly qualified to write on their 
several subjects. 

If the details of this little work are curtailed, it is because of an 
embarrassment of riches, rather than a lack of them. To amplify 
and supplement the matter here set forth the reader may obtain 
printed or specifically written information from any of several 
large bureaus maintained for that purpose up and down the 
State — the State Board of Trade and Promotion Committee of 
San Francisco; Chambers of Commerce of Los Angeles, Sacra- 
mento, Oakland, San Jose, Fresno, and Stockton; and if anything 
further is desired regarding still smaller communities, a board of 
trade or similar body maintained at every county seat and in most 
of the towns will, upon request, promptly forward reliable 
information. 



PREFACE. 



This book is a revision of the one issued by mandate of the law 
carrying the appropriation through which California was enabled 
to place an exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. In that 
respect it is official, and by that fact it must be realized that it is 
in the interest of no individual; of no single community. It is 
for the whole of California— designated by one of the greatest of 
Americans as that "Empire of the Pacific," whose extent and 
importance he expressed in that title, and whose destiny he so 
clearly foreshadowed. 

With this brief introduction, the California Commission to the 
Lewis and Clark Exposition present this book, in the hope that it 
will be accepted as a true, earnest and impartial presentation of 
the conditions in California; as giving reliable information to all 
who may be seeking it. 



CALIFOKNIA 



Its Products, Kesources, Industries and 
Attractions. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



By CARRIE J. PRATT. 



Many and diverse are the elements which have gone into the 
making of the "Golden State." Strangely different actors have 
played their part, and left their impress where they played. The 
country itself and its aboriginal inhabitants were long a source of 
attraction to the Spanish conquerors. In 1536, Cortes and his 
followers superficially inspected Lower California. They likened 
the land to the famous island of Amazons, described in the old 
Spanish romance, "Sergas de Espladian," in which the author 
speaks of "the great island of California, where an abundance of 
gold and precious stones is found." With the inherent poesy of 
the Spanish race they named the territory California, 

In 1542, Cabrillo sailed along the coast, and over a century later 
Viscaino explored it, mapping the bays of San Diego and Mon- 
terey, Sir Francis Drake, Queen Elizabeth's daring buccaneer, 
in cruising the Pacific for Spain's treasure ships, discovered, in 
1579, the bay which bears his name. He called the land "New 
Albion." 

Spain's desire for new possessions and the missionary zeal of 
the Franciscans under the leadership of Father Junipero Serra 
led to the colonization of California in 1768. This fervid religious 
enthusiast, and Jose Galvez, visitador-general to Mexico from 
Spain, fitted out four expeditions which set out by land and sea. 
The vicissitudes of travel were many. Finally, the travelers 
reached San Diego, and on July 16, 1769, they founded the mission 
of that name. Despite their exhausted condition, a detachment 
was sent northward to find the bay of Monterey, which had been 
mapped out by Viscaino. It was this party that missed its objec- 
tive point and found instead the important bay of San Francisco, 
This discovery led to the establishment of the mission of San 
Francisco, in the year of our national independence. 



6 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

By the end of 1823, when the last and most northerly mission 
had been planted at Sonoma, these religions houses had grown to 
twenty-one in number and had acquired great wealth in olive, 
orange and grape plantations and herds of cattle and horses. The 
Indians were converted to Christianity, weaned from their barbaric 
and nomadic state, and induced to lead a settled life. The Spanish 
government provided a presidio, or military station, near each 
mission. The pueblos, also a sort of adjunct to the missions, 
were towns established to promote the settlement of the country. 
They maintained local and civil government independent of church 
or military rule. To Calif ornians of the present day, the missions 
are memorials of the older civilization which keep alive the con- 
tinuity of historic interest. The ruined buildings are a source of 
inspiration to artists and the motifs for much of the domestic, 
civic and religious architecture of Modern California. 

As the years rolled on, explorers of different nationalities now 
and again touched at points along the coast, but only the Russians 
established a settlement, which, however, was abandoned after a 
short period. 

The political situation of the whole country was much altered 
when, in 1822, the many revolutionary upheavals in Mexico cul- 
minated in her proclamation of independence from Spain. The 
republican government was unfavorable to the Church, and the 
Mexican congress enacted a law providing for the dispersion of 
the Franciscan fathers of California and a division of their vast 
principalities among the settlers and the Indians. Soon after this 
the secularization of the missions began. They were stripped of 
their wealth; the buildings were neglected, the Indians scattered, 
and the ownership of the land fell to the lot of the Mexican 
rancheros. These were mostly of Spanish lineage, whose principal 
occupation was the raising of cattle for hides and tallow. They 
were, on the whole, a simple, kindly and unprogressive people, 
much given to picturesque apparel, gay colors and fiestas. They 
rode a great deal, visited one another frequently, enjoyed many 
sports, music and dancing, lived to a ripe old age, and had very 
large families. These were the days of boundless hospitality, when 
every stranger was welcome at the haciendas and became a guest 
for as long as he chose to remain. Those happy patriarchal times 
of the splendid idle forties— how they vanished upon the advent 
of the gringo— the stranger from across the plains ! 

By 1846 a number of Americans had found their way to the 
new territory. They had come as trappers and traders, and were 
men of valor and sturdiness— the heralds of Anglo-Saxon suprem- 
acy. A spirit of local independence developed rapidly among 
them. This led to a silent conflict between them and the Mexicans, 
resulting in a jealousy of Mexican control and bitter political 
feuds between rival factions around Monterey in the north and 
Los Angeles in the south. 

About this time the attention of the United States government 
began to be strongly attracted toward California, and the French 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. / 

and the English were looking in this direction Avith a view to pos- 
sibly taking possession of the country. 

All the circumstances connected with the seizing of California 
will probably never be known. It appears, however, that the 
authorities at Washington, having determined on a war with 
Mexico and being fully aware of the importance to the United 
States of an extension of territory to the Pacific, resolved to take 
possession of California, so that after the termination of the war 
this country would become a part of the Union. At all events, 
Fremont, while engaged in conducting a scientific expedition on 
the Pacific Coast, received, in May, 1846, verbal instructions from 
an officer dispatched from Washington. He at once turned back, 
made his way to Sutter's Fort, then to Sonoma, where he organized 
a battalion of mounted riflemen, and prepared to make war against 
the Mexicans. On the 14th of June, 1846, a party of Americans 
took possession of the town of Sonoma and raised the Bear Flag. 
On the 5th of July following, this Bear Flag party declared their 
independence, made Fremont governor and issued a formal decla- 
ration of war. Two days afterwards Commodore Sloat, under 
orders from the United States government, seized Monterey, and 
Captain Montgomery raised the American flag in San Francisco. 
The conquest was completed by Commodore Stockton and General 
Kearny. By the treaty with Mexico in 1848, California became 
American territory, and another milestone was reached in its 
progress. 

Upon the acquisition of California the United States revenue 
laws were extended over the territory and San Francisco made 
a port of entry, but no further progress was made toward creat- 
ing a government. The discussion as to what should be done with 
California when acquired began in Congress in 1846, and the 
question of slavery or no slavery was at once raised. When it 
became American territory the question of its admission into the 
Union was counted as one of supreme importance. There were 
fifteen free states and fifteen slave states, and, of course, an equal 
representation in the Senate. The addition of the sixteenth free 
state would turn the scale and mark the beginning of a preponder- 
ance of free-state power in Congress. Against this, resistance on 
the part of the South was almost desperate. A furious conflict 
was waged between the oratorical giants of Congress, but nothing 
concluded. 

The dilator iness was most harassing to the Californians, who 
soon realized that a state organization was the only feasible scheme 
which promised the country a government. In accordance with 
this conviction the people, in September, 1849, framed a constitu- 
tion which forbade slavery. On the 9th of September of the fol- 
lowing year, 1850, and without having gone through any novitiate 
as a territory, California sprang into full being as a common- 
wealth and was admitted to the sisterhood of states. 

An important era dates from the discovery of gold at Sutter's 
mill, on January 24, 1848. The news that gold had been found 



8 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

sped to the most distant parts of the world. A great tide of 
migration swept westward, and the vast Pacific was covered with 
the sailing craft of all nations. The mighty historic body of 
gold-seekers— the Argonauts— arrived in 1849. Many of tliese 
journeyed with ox team across the plains and struggled through 
the Sierra, braving the famine and horror of the desert and the 
perils of predatory Indians. Women and children shared with 
men the privations of the terrible overland trail. Simultaneously 
with the coming of the overland contingent, ships were fitted out 
for the long voyage around Cape Horn, and steamers were put on 
to carry people by way of Panama. The majority of the new- 
comers were young, unmarried men of brawn and vigor, con- 
temptuous of obstacles and reckless of their lives. They had the 
qualities which made them fit to do battle with and to overcome 
wild man and nature. They came with one idea— to get rich 
quickly and return home. The scramble for gold lasted until the 
mountains and gulches had been scratched over and a decline in 
gold production had set in. Then those who came to mine 
remained to till. The pick and the shovel gave way to the plow 
and the hoe. Instead of golden nuggets, the earth was made to 
yield a harvest of golden grain. This was the beginning of the 
great wheat-planting era, before the versatility of California's 
soil was realized. The completion of the transcontinental railroad 
in 1869 furthered the prosperity of the State and gave an impetus 
to the immigration of home builders. 

California's second "gold" discovery— the navel orange— dates 
from the seventies. Like Marshall's find, it was the magnet to 
draw to the State thousands of strangers. These, unlike the first- 
comers, were colonists who brought with them their household 
gods and set up homes, laid out orange groves, and awaited results. 

The orange was the incentive to other horticultural discoveries, 
and to-day California has no equal among the states, nor indeed, 
among the countries of the world, in horticultural possibilities. It 
has more acres in grapes than New England has in corn, and it 
produces more wine than all the rest of the Union put together. 
Its beet sugar is a formidable rival to the cane product of tropic 
lands. It exports raisins to Spain, prunes to Germany and France, 
and will very soon take the fig trade of the world from Smyrna. 

California, with a coast line about one fifth the total coast line 
of the United States, has, by value, one fourteenth of the fisheries ; 
it has the densest forests of merchantable timber in the world; 
its yearly gold output is up in the millions of dollars, and its oil 
wells now exceed and bid fair to outlast the productiveness of 
those of Pennsylvania. 

In comparison with the other states in the Union, California 
ranks second in area, twenty-first in population, and eighteenth in 
order of admission. Its coast line, measured in all its sinuosities, 
is nearly one thousand miles in length, and its eastern boundary 
conforms to the curve of the seacoast, so that its breadth is approx- 
imately the same throughout, averaging about two hundred miles. 
The total land area is 155,980 square miles. 



10 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

To give a category of the State's resources and advantages 
would be an endless task. In his addres.ses to the people of Cali- 
fornia, in 1903, President Roosevelt said : 

" 'The Golden State' has a future of even brighter promise than 
most of her older sisters, and yet the future is bright for all of 
us. * * * In the century that is opening, the commerce and 
the command of the Pacific will be factors of incalculable moment 
in the world's history. * * * in the South Seas the great 
commonwealth of Australia has sprung into being. Japan, shak- 
ing off the lethargy of centuries, has taken her rank among civilized 
modern powers * * * and European nations have seated 
themselves along the coast of China. Meanwhile our own mighty 
republic has stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and now 
in California, Oregon, Washington; in Alaska, Hawaii and the 
Philippines, holds an extent of coast line which makes it of neces- 
sity a power of the first class in the Pacific. America's geograph- 
ical position on the Pacific is such as to insure our peaceful 
domination of its waters in the future if we only grasp with 
sufficient resolution the advantages of that position. We are tak- 
ing long strides in that direction. Witness the cables we are laying 
down, the steamship lines we are starting— some of them already 
containing vessels larger than any freight carriers that have pre- 
viously existed. We have taken the first steps toward digging an 
isthmian canal, to be under our own control; a canal which will 
make our Atlantic and Pacific coast lines in effect continuous, 
which will be of incalculable benefit to our mercantile navy, and 
above all to our military navy in the event of war. * * * 
Much of our expansion must go through the 'Golden Gate.' And 
inevitably, you who are seated by the Pacific must take the lead in 
and must profit by the growth of American influence along the 
coasts and among the islands of that mighty ocean, where East 
and West finally become one." 



TOPOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



By J. A. FILCH ER, 

California Commissioner to Lewis and Clark Exposition. 



In its topography California is distinct and striking. Two 
ranges of mountains practically inclose a great interior basin or 
valley. On the east is the high Sierra range, on the summits of 
which snow remains all the year; on the west is the low Coast 
Range, which gathers snow enough occasionally during the winter 
months to whiten its highest points a few days at a time. These 
mountain ranges converge at Elount Shasta in the northern part 



12 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

of the State, and again at Tehachapi in the south. Tlie great 
valley lying between them is one expanse of practically level or 
unbroken territory, from 500 to 600 miles long and from 40 to 60 
miles wide. The northern portion is drained by the Sacramento 
river and its tributaries, and is called the Sacramento valley. The 
southern portion is drained by the San Joaquin river and its trib- 
utaries, and is called the San Joaquin valley. These rivers empty 
into the easterly portion of San Francisco bay, and the Golden 
Gate is their common outlet to the sea. The eastern boundary 
line of the State between California and Nevada follows closely 
the summit of the Sierra, and on the western or California side 
the decline is very gradual, forming an immense watershed, 
embracing the gold-mining region of the State, vast forests of 
superior commercial timber, and in the lower altitudes, where less 
rugged, the great Sierra foothill fi'uit belt. 

The Coast Range consists of different spurs, and between these 
are valleys of greater or less dimensions that are exceedingly 
fertile. Among the most noted of these valleys north of San 
Francisco bay are Sonoma valley, Napa valley, Vaca valley, and 
Ukiah valley. Near Clear lake is what is known as Scott's val- 
ley, very productive, but of higher altitude. South of San Fran- 
cisco bay, not counting the many small and very fertile valleys in 
Contra Costa and Alameda counties, are Santa Clara valley, 
Pajaro valley, Salinas valley, Santa Maria valley, and several other 
extremely rich but smaller valleys in San Luis Obispo and north- 
ern Santa Barbara counties. South of the Tehachapi range, which 
terminates the great San Joaquin valley, is what is commonly 
known as Southern California. This part of the State is more or 
less broken by low mountains, but the region between them and 
the seacoast is extensive, and this and the valleys lying between 
the different mountain ranges are noted for a bountiful yield of 
every semi-tropic and other product that has helped to make 
California famous. 

Back of the mountains in Southern California lies the Mojave 
desert. On this desert, where water has been developed, plant 
products have proven profitable ; otherwise it presents to the eye a 
great expanse of unbroken sterility. This desert and the moun- 
tains that are too steep for cultivation embrace about 60,000,000 
acres, or three fifths of the total area of the State, leaving about 
40,000,000 acres, or two fifths of the area of the State, that is 
arable. Thus is the topography of California briefly outlined. 

The coast trend of the State being northwest and southeast, 
presents a right angle front to the Japan or equatorial current 
that ever comes up from the southwest to lave its shores. It is 
this warm current that gives California its temperate and equable 
climate, and it is this current that gives to the entire State, north, 
south, and central, the same general average temperature at points 
of the same altitude and the same distance from the sea. 

It is the topography of California that diversifies its climate 
more than latitude. Mountain ranges afford different altitudes, 



TOPOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 13 

and altitude affects temperature. These same ranges govern air 
currents, and these again have a bearing on the climate. On the 
coast where the summer sea breezes are ever present, the temper- 
ature is greatly modified, and the atmosphere is refreshing. By 
reason of the cooler summers on the coast, the seasons are more 
backward. It is in the warmer vales on the eastern or valley side 
•of the Coast Range, or on the sunny slopes of the Sierra foothills, 
above the fogs and below the snow, where the sun shines always 
except when the clouds are passing, and in the sheltered valleys 
of the south, that the earliest of California's early products are 
grown. The entire Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, being 
sheltered from sea breezes by the Coast Range mountains, present 
an early field, but not so early as the foothills of the Sierra, or as 
the sheltered vales of Central or Southern California. These facts 
are mentioned as interesting to the prospective producer, since 
the earliest fruits and vegetables are generally the most profitable. 
In this connection it may be stated that a new mark (or date) 
for California's earliest fruits is promised by the products from 
the desert, not important now, but which are becoming gradually 
more extensive as from year to year more water is being developed. 

Enough of the sea breezes blow through the Golden Gate to affect 
the temperature of the great interior valleys by evening, and it is 
this influence which gives to them the delightful characteristic of 
cool summer nights. While the soils of the valleys and sloping 
hills are generally rich in the elements that go to make plant life, 
in some portions the soil is richer and more productive than in 
others. These differences, as well as the air currents that affect 
the temperature, have their bearing on vegetation, and especially 
on the fruit of the plant, and they are subjects that have to be 
studied by the farmer and the horticulturist. 

Temperature and soil elements affect not only production, but 
especially the quality of the product, and they must be considered 
by the producer. A luscious grape, for instance, can be grown 
almost anywhere below a certain altitude in California; but the 
grape of the warm interior would have too much sugar for a light 
dry table wine, while the grape of the cooler bay counties would 
not have sugar enough for a good raisin. Hence we must grow 
our dry wines in the cool bay counties and our sweet wines and 
raisins in the warmer interior. Dry, warm weather is essential 
also for successfully curing raisins, and hence Fresno and adjoin- 
ing counties in the heart of the great San Joaquin valley, where 
soil and climatic conditions are ideal, have become the great raisin 
center of the State. Again, with the Tokay table grape color is 
an essential selling quality ; it is therefore important to plant these 
grapes where there is plenty of iron or coloring matter in the soil. 
This is also true of peaches. For this reason the red iron soil of 
the Sierra foothills region is commanding attention as the field for 
the production of the best of these products. 

These are instances, but they serve to suggest caution in the 
selection of locality for any particular production. Prunes grow 



14 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

to large size and are generally successful throughout the great 
interior orchard sections of the State ; but the best prunes, those 
which in thinness of skin, size of pit, texture of flesh, and delicacy 
of flavor come nearest the ideal, are grown in the valleys of the 
Coast Range. Thus. Santa Clara valley enjoys more fame from 
its prunes than has the county by reason of its possession of the 
Lick Observator}' or the Stanford University. 

Again, the foothills, so well adapted to peaches, table grapes, 
pears and certain varieties of plums, are not the best place for 
apricots. This fruit requires a deep, rich loam, and hence the river 
bottom land of the interior valleys and the deep, dark soil of the 
Coast Range valley's and around San Francisco bay can be depended 
on for the thriftiest trees and the best crops. Citrus fruits require 
a deep, rich soil and a congenial climate, warm in the summer 
and not too cold in the winter. The Avinter in San Francisco 
would not hurt an orange tree, yet the summer is too cool for the 
proper development of the fruit ; hence San Francisco and adjacent 
coast country are not properly within the California citrus belt. 

Nearly all the arable regions of Southern California have con- 
ditions favorable to citrus fruit production, and it is here nearly 
all the oranges and lemons are at present grown, yet the Sierra 
foothills and the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, where soil 
conditions are favorable, are extending their groves and adding 
each year to their output of this staple California fruit. 

It is said the olive will grow anywhere, even on impoverished 
soil, but experience has shown that, like all other fruit, it appre- 
ciates good soil, and responds generously to good care. 

There is much in soil and temperature in California and the 
adaptability of certain conditions for the best results in certain 
lines of products which the oldest or wisest inhabitant has not yet 
satisfactorily solved; but enough is known, as the result of exten- 
sive and expensive experiments, to suggest to the novice, or the 
newcomer, that he must exercise care in selecting a location for the 
pursuit of any particular line of husbandry. He may do fairly 
well in almost any lijie. almost anywhere, but what he should 
endeavor to learn is the locality in which he can do better in his 
particular line than he could do elsewhere. Ask questions, observe 
what others are doing, and make comparisons— this is the quickest, 
easiest and safest way to learn the truth. 



CLIMATE OP CALIFORNIA. 15 

CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA. 



By N. p. CHIPMAN, 

President of the State Board of Trade. 



California must be counted among the most valuable posses- 
sions of the United States for many reasons; chiefly, however, 
because of the matchless climate of the State and the high 
economic value it bestows upon a large area of arable land whose 
coast line measures 850 miles from point to point, the average 
width of the State being about 200 miles. The south boundary 
line of latitude emerges on the Atlantic coast near Savannah, 
Georgia, and the north parallel near Boston, Massachusetts. 
Between these two latter points lie ten states of the Union. It 
counts for something to the nation that this extended coast line, 
on the Pacific Ocean, is fortressed by a region capable of support- 
ing many millions of people and that the coast to the Canadian 
boundary is backed by a country of almost boundless resources. 

It is not generally appreciated that all of France, all of Italy 
north of Rome, and half of Spain lie north of the north boundary of 
California. This relative position on the west coast of our conti- 
nent would suggest a mild climate, but not necessarily its unique 
and exceptional character. It is the purpose of the writer to 
bring to public attention the principal features of this climate and 
to show its economic value. 

Professor Alexander G. McAdie, District Forecaster of the 
United States Weather Bureau, San Francisco, states that the 
climate of California is controlled by four great factors: (1) The 
movements of the great continental and oceanic pressure areas 
(commonly called "high" and "low"), together with the move- 
ments of individual pressure areas; (2) the prevailing drift of the 
atmosphere in temperate latitudes from west to east; (3) the 
proximity of the Pacific Ocean, with a mean annual temperature 
near the coast line of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, a great natural con- 
servator of heat, to which is chiefly due the moderate range of 
temperature along the coast from San Diego even to Tatoosh 
island (extreme northwest coast of Washington) ; and, (4) the 
exceedingly diversified topography for a distance of 200 miles 
from the coast inland. To this diversified topography is due the 
fact that California is a land of many climates, "from the hottest 
sub-tropical to the cold temperate, and from the driest desert to 
the most humid regions of the higher mountains and northern 
coast. ' ' 

The Sierra Nevada mountains form a natural boundary line on 
the east, rising gradually from the west to a height of from 8,500 
to 14,000 feet, much above the snow line, and falling off to the 
Nevada plateau, which is about 4,000 feet above sea level. The 



16 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Coast Range mountains form a broad belt, traversing the entire 
coast, and consist of two or three parallel ranges from 3,200 to 
5,000 feet high, and between these ranges are many rich valleys, 
some of large extent. The Coast Range merges into the Siskiyou 
mountains on the north, a connecting link with the Sierra, crowned 
by Mount Shasta; and the Tehachapi mountains, far to the south, 
form another connecting link. 

Between the Sierra and the coast mountains and these connect- 
ing mountain links lies the Great Central Valley of California, 
about 400 miles long and from 50 to 60 miles wide ; an agricultural 
district of great fruitfulness, comprising quite one ninth of the 
State. There is but little waste land in it. The northern portion 
is blessed by ample rainfall, and the southern part, Avhen watered, 
is every^vhere very productive, as is the entire valley. The Sacra- 
mento river runs south through the northern portion (Sacramento 
valley), rising near Mount Shasta; the San Joaquin river runs 
north through the southern portion (San Joaquin valley) ; the two 
rivers uniting near the middle of the great valley and flowing 
westward into San Francisco bay, and thence through the ' ' Golden 
Gate" into the Pacific Ocean. 

There is here a wide break in the Coast Range through which 
the summer trade winds find their way into the interior, an impor- 
tant factor in the climatic conditions of the valley. This sea breeze 
every summer afternoon blows up stream, north into the Sacra- 
mento valley and south into the San Joaquin valley, thus temper- 
ing the heat of the great valley. This influence, together with the 
drj^ness of the atmosphere, renders the occasional high tempera- 
tures of these two valleys more easily endurable at 110 degrees 
than is 95 degrees in the humid regions of the Eastern States. 

South of the Tehachapi mountains the Sierra continue at less 
elevation, and are locally called Sierra Madre. The wonderfully 
developed region known as Southern California lies west. On the 
east is the Mojave desert, and south and east the Colorado desert; 
important regions of the State as yet but partially developed, but 
of great fertility by the application of water, which the genius and 
enterprise of the people will surely bring in touch with the land. 
As in the north, the breaks in the Coast Range and in the Sierra 
Madre become important factors in modifying the climate of the 
interior. In Southern California and in Central California (San 
Joaquin valley) extensive irrigation systems already in operation 
greatly mitigate, if they do not satisfactorily supply, the lack of 
rainfall. Irrigation is also being much resorted to in the Sacra- 
mento valley. 

The prevailing winds come from the ocean and are 

Winds, principally from the southwest landward, producing 
a cool summer climate along the immediate coast. 
Fogs sometimes sweep in from the ocean, more or less unfavorably 
affecting the enjoyment of the climate, but by their moisture con- 
tributing to the growth of vegetation. These fogs are less harsh 
on the south coast. The heat rising from the great valley draws a 



CLIMATE OP CALIFORNIA. 17 

strong current from the trade winds through the Golden Gate that 
divides as it passes and extends south to the Tehachapi mountains 
and north to ]\Iount Shasta, rendering the air of the valley more 
delightful. The same drift of the trade winds tempers the air far 
into the interior in Southern California. The high movintain bar- 
rier on the east, through the length of the State, deflects the cold 
wdnds that sweep down over the Nevada plains in winter from 
Alaska and prevents their entrance into the valley regions of Cali- 
fornia. Dry north winds sometimes blow through the great valley 
in summer, raising the temperature, and are occasionally injurious 
to grooving crops, but they seldom continue more than three or 
four days, when they are succeeded by the balmy and cool ocean 
breezes. Along the immediate coast the average winter and sum- 
mer temperature differs only about four degrees, and one of the 
characteristic features of the San Francisco climate is exemplified 
by the sight of furs worn by ladies over summer garments, and 
fires in sunimer are not infrequent. All along the coast, however, 
there are thousands of sheltered nooks and small valleys and 
sequestered spots, where the fogs and harsh winds of the coast 
have no appreciable effect and where the climate is charming and 
sunny to the last degree, both winter and summer. 

The terms "winter" and "summer," as commonly 

Rainfall, used in the Eastern States, have no application in 
California. The year is more properly divided into 
"rainy season" (winter) and "dry season" (summer). Prac- 
tically all the rain falls from about the first of November until 
April; the remaining months of the year are rainless, except in 
some parts of the mountains and on the coast north of Cape Men- 
docino, where occasional summer show^ers occur. Cereal crops 
mature in early summer after rain ceases, and no housing of crops 
is necessary for protection against rain in harvest time. 

The rainfall of California is a characteristic feature of the cli- 
mate. A word as to its source and cause will be interesting. 
Professor McAdie points out that over the North Pacific Ocean in 
winter there exists an area of low barometer (latitudes 40 and 60 
degrees north and 130 degrees west to 140 degrees east longitude), 
while an area of high pressure overlies the greater part of North 
America with a southwest extension to the Tropics and west to 
the one hundred and sixtieth meridian. He says: "We shall find 
that typical wet winters on the California coast occur when this 
great North Pacific low extends well eastward overlying the conti- 
nent w'est of a line draAAai from San Francisco to Calgary (Can- 
ada). At the same time the great continental high area appar- 
ently recedes to the southeast. On the other hand, the pressure 
distribution characteristic of a dry winter on the California coast 
is marked by the prevalence of the continental high over the entire 
country' west of the Rocky mountains." 

Our A^dnter rain storms (barring an occasional one coming in 
from the ocean unheralded) have their origin off the coast of Van- 



18 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC, 

couver, and curiously enough are attended in the great valley by 
south winds. The storms diminish in intensity as they travel 
south, tapering off as they approach Southern California. The 
table will show this graphically, from which will be seen also the 
great variations of rainfall within the State, and even within the 
great valley. In 1904, for example, the rainfall at Eureka, Hum- 
boldt county, on the innnediate coast, was 64.47 inches, and at San 
Diego l)ut 6.61. At Crescent City, Del Norte county, adjoining 
Humboldt (farther north), the rainfall reached 107.61 inches. At 
Redding, Shasta county (interior), the rainfall was 56.87 inches; 
at Red Bluff, forty miles south, 33.96 inches; at Sacramento, 
20.99 inches; Fresno (center of San Joacjuin valley), 13.33 inches; 
Bakersfield (extreme southern point of valley), 6.68 inches. In 
the Sierra Nevada mountains the rainfall increases about one inch 
for every one hundred feet elevation. 

The direction of the coast valleys exerts striking influence upon 
rainfall and temperature, dependent upon the facility for the 
trade winds to reach them. The climatic and agricultural char- 
acter of the foothills, up to 2,000 or 2,500 feet, is much the same 
as in the valley. Even higher fine deciduous fruits are grown. 
Still higher are the lumbering camps, mining, and thousands of 
cattle and sheep are herded in summer where in winter the moun- 
tains are deeply covered with snow. Illustrative of the character- 
istic variations of climate it may he stated that in the vicinity of 
Truckee, Nevada county, elevation 5,819 feet, the temperature 
(January 23d) was 12 degrees below zero and the snowfall for the 
year was 200.5 inches. At Rock] in, Placer county, thirty miles west, 
elevation 249 feet, the lowest temperature was 28 degrees above. 
All the natural ice consumed in California was made near Truckee 
while oranges were being gathered for market around Rocklin. 

I have prepared the following table from the ' ' Annual 
ture^^^^~ Summary, California section, of the Weather 
Bureau," for 1904. It shows not only temperature 
of points; but also rainfall, elevation of points above the sea, clear 
and cloudy days. I have taken illustrative points in Northern 
and Central California, the coast country and the mountains. It 
will be noted that while the annual mean temperature of the 
Pacific Coast does not differ greatly from the annual mean of the 
Atlantic Coast, the average summer and average winter here and 
on the Atlantic are wide apart, and the extremes between the 
highest and lowest temperature are very great. It is this exemp- 
tion from extremes of temperature that constitutes the charm, 
and healthfulness as well, of the Pacific Coast. 

In tlie interior, especially in the great valley, the seasons show 
greater extremes of temperature, but, as already suggested, the 
dryness of the air renders these extremes less felt than on the 
coast where the air is more moist. The limit of winter cold is the 
test of what may be grown rather than the average temperature. 
And so we find citrus fruit flourishing from the north to the south 
end of the great valley, and orange-growing is a leading industry 



CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA. 



19 



CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA FOR THE YEAR 1904. 



County. 



Auburn 

Chico 

Red Bluff... 
Sacramento. 
Placerville.. 

Napa 

Marysville 

Willows... 
Vacaville . 

\\oodland 

Bakersfleld ... 

Fresno 

Porterville.. 

Stockton 

Hanford 

Merced 

Eureka 

San Francisco- 
S. Luis Obispo. 
Santa Barbara 

San Rafael 

Ilealdsburg... 

Monterey 

Watson ville .. 

San Jos6- 

Oakland 

Bodie 

Independence 

Quincy 

Sisson _. 

Summit 

Truckee. 

San Diego 

S. Bernardino. 

Riverside 

C^hino. 

Los Angeles... 

Anaheim 

Cuyamaca 

Claremont 

Barstow 

Azusa 



Placer 

Butte - 

Tehama. 

Sacramento... 

El Dorado 

Napa 

Yuba 

Glenn 

Solano 

Yolo 

Kern 

Fresno 

Tulare 

San Joaquin ._ 

Kings 

Merced 

Humboldt 

San Francisco. 
S. Luis Obispo - 
Santa Barbara 

Marin 

Sonoma 

Monterey 

Santa Cruz 

Santa Clara. .. 

Alameda 

Mono _ 

Inyo 

Plumas -. 

Siskiyou 

Placer 

Nevada 

San Diego 

S. Bernardino. 

Riverside 

S. Bernardino. 
Los Angeles... 

Orange 

San Diego 

Los Angeles... 
S. Bernardino. 
Los Angeles... 



1,360 

193 

307 

71 

1,820 

60 

67 

136 

175 

1-.3 

404 

293 

461 

23 

349 

173 

64 

155 

201 

130 

56 

52 

1 

2 

95 

36 

8,248 

3,907 

3,400 

3,555 

7,017 

5,819 

93 

1,054 

851 

714 

293 

134 

4,543 

1,200 

2,105 

540 



Temperature. 
(degrees Fahren- 
heit.) 






62.3 
62.4 
62.8 
60.1 
55.5 
57.5 
61.1 
62.5 
61.1 
64.4 
64.4 
63.7 
64.1 
58.8 
62.3 
62.6 
51.9 
56.4 
59.3 
61.4 
58.0 
59.5 
55.2 
61.1 
59.6 
57.9 
38.3 
59.9 
49.7 
50.6 
45.9 
42.2 
62.4 
63.7 
63.1 
64.6 
63.9 
68.0 
49.3 
64.3 
66.8 
64.6 



102 

108 

108 

102 

98 

110 

109 

105 

109 

104 

111 

109 

112 

104 

108 

110 

81 

101 

106 

95 

110 

113 

98 

101 

106 

99 

86 

97 

93 

107 

76 

88 

94 

110 

110 

103 

97 

104 

85 

107 

109 

104 



t 3£, 



30 
27 
29 
32 
14 
29 
29 
28 
28 
32 
22 
28 
25 
27 
20 
20 
32 
38 
30 
33 
30 
27 
32 
29 
29 
33 
14 
19 
5 
8 
6 
12 
36 
25 
27 
20 
35 
28 
9 
30 
30 
26 



Precipita- 
tion. 
(inches.) 



47.55 
30.39 
33.96 
20.99 
52.21 
30.73 
26.90 
23.27 
34.92 
24.37 

6.68 
13.33 
10.77 
16.86 
10.11 
12.84 
64.47 
24.72 
22.62 
20.82 
51.41 
62.33 
18.34 
21.10 
16.12 
33.06 
20.10 
2.62 
61.42 
55.11 
76.54 
40.19 
6.61 
10.24 
6.63 
8.89 
11.88 
9.13 
26.81 
12.54 

.80 
13.68 



^£. 



1.0 



4.5 



127.5 



76.5 
150.5 
498.0 
200.5 



9.0 



64 
72 
82 
78 
89 
73 
65 
44 
80 
50 
28 
45 
39 
61 
32 
34 
129 
83 
54 
41 
68 
86 
44 
57 
51 
83 
41 
19 
85 
85 
85 
79 
34 
38 
34 
19 
30 
21 
52 
35 
4 
29 



Sky. 






219 
118 
269 
156 
208 
194 
172 
217 
239 
167 
250 
233 
255 
175 
187 
149 
240 
271 
313 
307 



63 
50 
75 
78 
13 
95 
62 
50 

118 
37 
38 
54 

115 
56 
53 

99 
83 
76 

134 



>M 



in several counties of that valley. In Southern California both 
the heat and the cold are comparatively milder, although the read- 
ings of the thermometer do not much differ from points north of 



20 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

the Tehacbapi. It is sliOAvn by tbe table that there were 186 clear 
days in San Francisco, as against 187 in Los Angeles during the 
year, although there were nearly three times as many rainy days 
in San Francisco. For abundant sunshine, resort must be had to 
the interior. For example. Red Bluff, in the north, had 210 clear 
days, and Riverside, in the south, 255. In truth, the California 
of "Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers" is pretty near the whole State, 
below high mountain elevations. 

As far back as we have any recorded history, and 
Climate Un- behind this, embracing traditions coming through the 
changing, early Mission Fathers, we learn of the same equability 

of temperature, the same balmy atmosphere, the same 
luxuriance of vegetation. Our soil may require renewing by fertil- 
ization, but our climate is as constant as the sun. The conditions 
which have produced the result are themselves unchanging, and 
so must be the result. 

California is a universal sanitarium. The climate of 
It is Health- the coast is invigorating, stimulating and delightful, 
Giving. neither hot nor cold; the laborer knows no fatigue 

except from physical exhaustion resulting from over- 
taxed muscles. The brain-worker yields only to failure of mental 
powers. In the interior valleys, in midsummer, the temperature 
is higher, and there is discomfort at times while working in the 
harvest fields and at the desk and behind the counter. But the 
dryness of the air robs the thermometer of much of its terror. The 
sensible temperature, i. e., the temperature we in fact experience 
or feel in the valleys, is less irksome at 100 or 110 degrees than in 
regions of greater humidity of the atmosphere where the reading is 
from 85 to 95 degrees. Sunstroke here is unknown. It is the 
common experience of persons coming into abnost any part of the 
State that they increase in weight and strength, are less troubled 
with nervous affections, sleep and eat Avell, and improve in health 
if ailing fi'om any cause'. 

The variety of temperature and climatic conditions 
Source of existing in the mountains, valleys and on the coast. 
Happiness, and the celerity and ease with which our inhabitants 

may change their immediate surroundings, constitute 
one of the great charms of California life. Thousands of families 
residing in the valleys find their way into the mountains or to the 
seacoast and have most delightful camping-out experiences; and 
this they may do in a few hours or a day or two at most, with their 
own conveyances. Our valleys and mountains lie so related to each 
other that no spot can be found devoid of scenic beauty. There is 
no dull monotony in the farmer's life as there is from necessity in 
the lives of those who reside on the great plain regions of the 
West, few of whom are ever permitted to enjoy the inspiring and 
elevating means of recreation and rest from labor which are a 
part of our life here. 



CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA. 21 

Degrees of latitude cut little figure in determining 
Some Peeul- the readings of the thermometer, which is not at all 
iarities. true on the Atlantic Coast and in the West. The 

above table tells the story from official sources for 
1904, and is valuable as covering the whole distance and interme- 
diate points, from San Diego near the south line of the State to 
Redding at the extreme north end of the Sacramento valley — 
eight degrees of latitude apart. 

The fact that latitude has little to do with our climate is a 
remarkable feature. It is not true of Italy, for there is a great 
variation there between the temperature north and south. It is 
not true of France or elsewhere along the west coast of Europe. 
We believe this to be a peculiarity unique and found only on this 
coast. This peculiarity is further attested by the fact that in all 
this vast region the same fruits are grown. Within a radius of 
fifty miles around Oroville, which is 150 miles north of San Fran- 
cisco and 650 miles north of Los Angeles, there were more than 
one thousand carloads of oranges raised last year and shipped out 
of the State, and they ripen earlier than in the south. Elevation 
has much more to do with temperature than latitude, for in high 
altitudes we find snow. Our mountain summer climate is extremely 
delightful and is destined to draw many Eastern people to the 
numerous charming retreats in the Sierra and the Coast Range. 

But after all is said, it must be conceded that climate 
Eeonomie is our greatest resource because of its high economic 
Value. value. The unthinking speak of climate as an 

attraction rather than a resource, but it is a resource 
because by its influence w^e are enabled to so marvelously diversify 
and increase the number of our agricultural products; and often, 
too, all these products may be grown on the same body of land. 
It is a resource, because man's labor here can be profitably 
employed every day in the year; because there is no month when 
vegetation in some form is not growing, and because it furnishes 
ideal conditions for the growth of irrigated crops. There is no 
time when all nature is at rest or plant life is sleeping. In the 
field, orchard, garden, factory, and in the mines; on the stock 
farm and in the dairy, every day is a day of productive labor. We 
commence shipping fresh deciduous fruits in May and there is no 
cessation until December. In November we begin to ship citrus 
fruits and they overlap the deciduous fruits and continue in fact 
the year through. 

Professor E. W. Hilgard justly sums up the matter thus: 
"Taken as a whole, California corresponds in its climatic features 
and adaptation to the Mediterranean region of Europe and 
Africa— a grand Riviera, with a partial background of the desert 
as well, where the date palm and the ostrich find a congenial home, 
and alluvial plains equaling in richness the famed delta of the 
Nile." 



22 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



THE TRIUMPH OF IRRIGATION. 



By WILLIAM E. SMYTHE, 
Author of "The Conquest of Arid America. 



First of all, irrigation is not a substitute for rain. Rain is a 
substitute for irrigation, and a very poor one. Irrigation is an 
insurance policy on the crops. But it is far more. Irrigation is 
the mother of institutions ! 

An ideal place would be one where it never rains in the growing 
season, but where the genius of man, working in cooperation with 
favorable natural conditions, could direct the moisture just where 
and when it is needed, in accordance with the varying needs of 
different crops. This ideal condition is approximated in a large 
part of the arid region, including the major portion of California. 

The most striking effect of this ancient art, which has now 
become the inspiration of remarkable modern developments, is its 
social influence. In this respect it revolutionizes the character of 
rural life. For irrigation means small farms; small farms mean 
near neighbors; and near neighbors imply high social advantages. 
The best examples of irrigation communities combine the most 
attractive features of town and country life. They give at the 
same time the benefits of neighborhood association and the inde- 
pendence that comes from li\dng on the soil. The result is a high 
degree of equality such as is seldom realized elsewhere. In many 
a California colony the homes are as beautiful as in the famous 
suburbs of Boston and Philadelphia, and these beautiful homes 
belong to the many, while those in the suburbs of great Eastern 
cities represent the few who have succeeded better than the 
average. 

Irrigation is the great teacher of cooperation. Men are com- 
pelled to associate and organize in distributing water over their 
lauds. From this experience it is easy to go forward to similar 
association in the sale of their products and the purchase of their 
supplies. For they soon learn that it is better to work with and 
for each other than against each other. This form of economic 
development is yet in its infancy, but is destined to extend in all 
directions and to have a very important influence on the future 
civilization of the irrigated region. 

The artificial control of moisture supplies the basis of absolutely 
scientific agriculture. The element of chance is wholly eliminated. 
]\Ian asserts his control over the forces of nature. Among other 
desirable rasults, he gains the power of diversifying his crops to 
the utmost degree and thus becoming self-sufficient. With him, 
the rain does not fall upon the just and the unjust— that is to say, 
upon crops that need it and crops that do not need it. The straw- 



24 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

berry vines may call for moisture in their own unmistakable lan- 
guage, and the call is promptly answered. The sugar-beets may 
crave only the uninterrupted sunshine in order that they may 
pack the largest possible amount of saccharine matter in their 
tiny cells, and the water is allowed to go singing past them. Thus, 
individuals and communities may become independent. National 
prosperity may pass and hard times come in its place, but the 
man who has a few acres of irrigated soil will continue to collect 
his living so long as water runs down hill and Mother Earth yields 
her increase. 

The most famous spots in California were evoked from desert or 
sheep-pasture by the miracle of irrigation. It does not follow that 
all parts of the State are worthless for agriculture or horticulture 
without it. But it is true, as Major John W. Powell said years 
ago, that "there is probably no acre of land in the United States 
the productive capacity of which would not be at least doubled by 
scientific irrigation." This is emphatically true of California, and 
the industry is being gradually extended into many localities 
which once proudly advertised that "no irrigation is needed." 

To those who are unfamiliar with it the actual process 
How Water of irrigation seems a deep mystery. They regard it 
Is Put Upon as an effort to overturn the laws of nature. The 
the Land. truth is that it is a perfectly natural process. The 
man who waters his plat of grass, and the woman 
who waters her dooryard pansies, are irrigators in a humble way. 
The citizen who grumbles at the sight of withered lawns in a pub- 
lic park during a dry summer yearns for irrigation without know- 
ing it. 

The control of w^ater for irrigation presents about the same 
problems to the engineer as the control of water for domestic pur- 
poses in large cities and towns. The water must be diverted from 
a flowing stream at a level high enough to command the territory 
to be irrigated; or it must be impounded in reservoirs at a season 
of floods or unusual flow, such as occurs everywhere when the ice 
and snow are melting; or it must be sought in the bowels of the 
earth by means of wells and lifted to the surface by pumps, except 
in the case of artesian waters, which flow out of the mouth of the 
well by reason of their own pressure. 

The principal diti'erence between securing a supply for domestic 
and for agricultural purposes is that in the case of the former the 
water must be as pure as possible, while in the case of the latter the 
impurities which gather in ponds and streams have a distinct com- 
mercial value as fertilizers. The sewage of Paris is used for irri- 
gation purposes with wonderful results, and the same thing is done 
in several Western cities, including Los Angeles. 

Irrigation works range from rude and simple ditches, taking 
their supplies from mountain brooks where the water has been 
diverted by means of small brush dams, to great masonry walls 
which block the outlet of deep canyons, holding back the water, 
which is thence transported through pipes, flumes and cemented 



THE TRIUMPH OP IRRIGATION. 25 

ditches to rich lands miles away. In the one case the works have 
been constructed by a small association of farmers, using their 
own labor and teams ; in the other, millions of Eastern and foreign 
capital have been invested. In both cases water is led through 
main canals to central points in the territory to be reclaimed. 
These mains are of all sizes, depending entirely upon the volume 
of water required. From the mains lateral ditches reach out in 
various directions. The farmer taps the lateral with a shallow 
ditch, usually made with a plow, and thus conducts the water 
where he wants it through his own private system of distributers. 
The management of the water, when the system has once been 
perfected, is so simple that a child can attend to it. 

In the hands of the Indians and Mexicans of the southwest irri- 
gation was a stagnant art, but the white population studied it with 
the same enthusiasm it bestowed upon electricity and new mining 
processes. The lower races merely knew that if crops were 
expected to grow on dry land they must be artificially watered. 
They proceeded to pour on the water by the rudest method. The 
Anglo-Saxon demanded to know why crops required water, and 
when it could be best supplied to meet their diverse needs. 

The earliest method of irrigation is known as "flooding," and 
is usually applied by means of shallow basins. A plot of ground 
near the river or ditch from Avhich water is to be drawn is inclosed 
by low embankments called checks. These checks are multiplied 
until the whole field is covered. The water is then drawn to the 
highest basin, permitted to stand until the land is thoroughly 
soaked, and then drawn off by way of a small gate into the next 
basin. This process is repeated until the entire field is irrigated. 
This is the system practiced on the Nile, where the basins some- 
times cover several square miles each, while in the West they are 
often no more than four hundred feet square. 

There is both a crude and a skillful way to accomplish the opera- 
tion of flooding, and there is a wide difl^erence in the results 
obtained by the two methods. Indian and Mexican irrigators sel- 
dom attempt to grade the surface of the ground. They permit 
water to remain in stagnant pools where there are depressions, 
while high places stand out as dusty islands for generations. All 
except very sandy soils bake in the hot sunshine after being 
flooded, and the crude way to remedy the matter is to turn on 
more water. Water in excess is an injury, and both the soil and 
the crops resent this method of treatment. 

The skillful irrigator grades the soil to an even slope of about 
one inch to every hundred inches, filling depressions and leveling 
high places. He "rushes" the water over the plot as rapidly as 
possible and, when the ground has dried sufficiently, cultivates the 
soil thoroughly, thus allowing the air to penetrate it. The best 
irrigators have abandoned the check system altogether and invented 
better methods of flooding the crops. Cereals and grasses must 
always be irrigated by flooding, but the check system seems likely 
to remain only in localities where Spanish speech and traditions 



26 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



survive. Flooding- is noAV more generally accomplished by means 
of shallow indentations or creases, which are not as large as fur- 
rows, but serve the same purpose. These are made by a simple 
implement at intervals of about twelve inches. They effect a 
very thorough and even wetting of the ground. 

The scientific side of irrigation is to be studied in con- 
nection with the cultivation of fruits and vegetables 
rather than with field crops. It is here that the 
English-speaking irrigators of California produced 
their best results. The ideal climatic conditions 
attracted both wealth and intelligence into the irrigation industiy. 
Scarcity of water and high land values promoted the study of the 



The Most 
Scientific 
Way, 




IKKRiATING DITCH — LINED WITH CEMEXT. 



best methods. Where water is abundant it is carried in open 
ditches and little thought is given to loss by seepage and evapora- 
tion. Under such conditions water is lavishly used, frequently to 
the injury rather than to the bcnelit of crops. But there are parts 
of California where water is as gold and is sought for in moun- 
tain tunnels and in the beds of streams. A thing so dearly 
obtained is not to be carelessly wasted before it reaches the place of 
use. Hence, steep and narrow ditches cemented on the bottom, or 
.steel pipes and wooden flumes, are employed. 

The precious water is applied to the soil by means of small fur- 
rows run between the trees or rows of vegetables. The ground 
has first been evenly graded on the face of each slope. The aim 
of the skillful irrigator is to allow the water to saturate the ground 



THE TRIUMPH OF IRRIGATION. 



27 



evenly in each direction, so as to reach the roots of the tree or 
plant. The stream is small, and creeps slowly down the furrow to 
the end of the orchard, where any surplus is absorbed by a strip 
of alfalfa, acting like a sponge. The land is kept thoroughly cul- 
tivated. In the best orchards no weed or spear of grass is ever 
seen, for water is too costly to waste in the nourishment of weeds. 
Moreover, it is desired to leave the soil open to the action of air 
and sunshine. Nowhere in the world is so naich care given to the 
aeration of the soil as in the irrigated orchards and gardens of 
California. Too much water reduces the temperature of the soil, 
sometimes develops hardpan and, more frequently, brings alkali to 
the surface. For these reasons, modern science has enforced the 




IRRIGATING PRUNE ORCHARD— TREES IN BLOOJl. 



economical use of water, reversing the Mexican custom of prodigal 
wastefulness. 

Of late years the application of water by furrows has been 
brought to a marvelous degree of perfection. "What is known as 
the ''Kedlands system" is the best type of irrigation method 
known in the w^orld. Under this system a small w^ooden flume or 
box is placed at the head of the orchard. An opening is made 
opposite each furrow and through this the water flows in the 
desired quantity, being operated by a small gate or slide. The 
aperture regulates the flow of water accurately and the system 
is so simple that, after it is once adjusted, it is as easy as the 
turning of a faucet. The farmer who grows his crops on a fertile 
soil, under almost cloudless skies, with a system controlling the 



28 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



moisture as effective as this, may be said to have mastered the 
forces of nature. 

The quality of the fruit has improved immensely since the Cali- 
fornia methods were perfected. Every fruit-grower realizes that 
the profit in his business comes mostly from the first grade of fruit. 
Scientific irrigation makes it possible for him largely to increase 
the percentage of the best fruit, and the difference which this 
produces in the earning capacity of his acres is surprising. 

The Mission Fathers gave the natives their first les- 
The Field of sons in the art of irrigation, and the beautiful gardens 
Operations, and orchards which sprang up in the early religious 

communities illustrated the agricultural possibilities 
inherent in California soil and sunshine. But the modern era of 




FLOODING THE ORCHARD — W.^^TER-TENDER AT WORK. 

irrigation began fifty years ago with the founding of Anaheim, 
some twenty miles southeast of Los Angeles, b.y a colony of German- 
Americans. Anaheim is rightfully proud of its distinction as the 
mother colony. 

Far more widely celebrated, however, are Riverside and the 
numerous settlements which came into being as the consequence 
of its example and influence. Among these are Ontario, Pomona, 
Etiwanda, Corona, Redlands and many others. These famous 
communities represent the maximum achievement in home-build- 
ing on irrigated lands, and have no real rivals in any part of the 
world, so far as skill in the application of water and beauty of 
public and private improvements are concerned. All that was said 
at the beginning of this article about the peculiar social and 



THE TRIUMPH OP IRRIGATION. 



29 



economic advantages arising from scientific control of moisture 
is strikingly ilhistrated in scores of Southern California commu- 
nities. 

The streams in this part of the State are wholly of torrential 
character, and during the larger portion of the year present noth- 
ing but dry channels over most of their courses. But during the 
rainy season they are often roaring rivers for a few^ days at a 
time, while a considerable flow is maintained by the melting snows 
much later. The canals first built upon these streams obtain 
most of their supply from the surface flow, but later canals depend 
upon the water which has been caught and held in storage reser- 
voirs or upon that obtained from deep wells, some of which are of 



&•-•?»'■ 




IRRIGATING STRAWBERRIES. 

true artesian character and flow by means of their own pressure. 
The hunt for water goes on relentlessly from year to year, for it 
is the foundation of all values in this arid land. "What individuals 
may do alone, or small farming communities by means of coopera- 
tion, has been largely done. What is now to be accomplished by 
the hand of united and associated man we shall shortly see. 

Although Southern California was first to utilize irrigation, this 
is by no means the largest field of the industry. The beautiful 
southern counties enjoy a fame wholly out of proportion to their 
geographical area, which is greatly to their credit, and which is 
due to their success in putting water upon the land far more than 
to anv other single factor. But it is the region north of the Pass 



30 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODIJ'CTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

of Tehachapi -wliich was endowed by nature with the greatest val- 
leys of fertile soil and the most abundant supplies of water avail- 
able for irrigation. The climate, too, is fully equal to that of the 
south in productive capacity. Indeed, the earliest fruit of every 
kind, including oranges, is grown hundreds of miles north of Los 
Angeles. It is difficult to convince Eastern people that this is 
true, because of their inherited prejudices as to the meaning of 
northern and southern latitudes, but it is, nevertheless, a fact 
beyond all dispute. 

The great interior basin of California, inclosed between the 
Coast Range and the Sierra, extends north and south of the bay 
of San Francisco for hundreds of miles in either direction. The 
southern portion of it, known as the San Joaquin, has a number 
of great irrigation systems, any one of which supplies more land 
than is irrigated in the famous valleys of Southern California. 
In addition to these great systems, there are many smaller ones. 
Perhaps the most striking development is that in the neighbor- 
hood of Fresno, which is the center of the raisin district. Here a 
very poor cattle country has been converted into a land of small 
diversified farms, sustaining a comparatively dense population. 

The great valley of the Sacramento, constituting the northern 
half of the great interior basin, is even more abundantly watei'od 
so far as the natural supply is concerned, but is far more back- 
ward in irrigation development. This is due to the fact that rain- 
fall is heavier and more reliable, so that crops are raised without 
artificial moisture. The Sacramento region is now in the stage of 
transition from large to small farms and irrigation is being rapidly 
extended in consequence. 

In the beautiful coast region the same general statement is true, 
although the small farm unit has preceded irrigation in many 
localities. Certain classes of fruit are raised successfully by 
means of the winter rainfall, but the productive capacity of the 
soil is greatly enhanced by irrigation. Not only so, but irrigation 
makes it possible to diversify the crops to the last degree and to 
take full advantage of the wonderful climate by raising successive 
crops of small fruits and vegetables. This explains the rapid 
spread of the art in all portions of the State. 

Besides the celebrated districts in the north and south, with 
Avhich all travelers and readers are more or less familiar, there are 
undiscovered Californias lying away from the railroad lines and 
scarcely known to Californians themselves, yet full of potential- 
ities of developnient. These are on the eastern slopes of the 
Sierra, bordering Oregon on the north, Nevada on the east, and 
Mexico on the south. The most promising of these districts are the 
Honey Lake region, the Inyo country and the vast valley of the 
Rio Colorado. 

As a whole, it may be said that the irrigation industry of Cali- 
fornia is yet in its "infancy. Wliat has so far been done is little 
more than the foresliadowing of the great achievement which is to 
come, for something great has happened in the last two years. 



THE TRIUMPH OF IRRIGATION. 31 

Private and small co-operative enterprises have done 
The Awak- ^vhat they could to assist California in the realiza- 
ening of tion of its economic destiny. And they have done 
Uncle Sam. well. But the task is too great for any power short of 
the General Government itself to carry to a successful 
conclusion. It is to be the labor not of years, but of generations, 
even of centurie.s. It is to cost not millions, but tens of millions. 
It is to benefit not individuals and local communities alone, but 
states, a nation, humanity. And its dividends are to be paid, not 
in pecuniary terms, but in lasting institutions, in the economic 
freedom of the race. 

The act approved June 17, 1902— the anniversary of the battle of 
Bunker Hill— started California on a new era of development. 
The money provided for the work of national irrigation is meager — 
the fund now amounts to something over twenty millions — but the 
principle established is of incalculable importance. Already 
national engineers are at work in making plans on two California 
streams for irrigation systems as great as those built by British 
genius on the Ganges and the Nile. These streams are the Sacra- 
mento in the north and the Colorado in. the south. When thase 
are completed the foundations will be laid for millions of new 
population and hundreds of millions of new taxable wealth. These 
systems may be made to provide not only for irrigation, but also 
for drainage of lands now rendered useless by annual overflow, 
and may also assist in the provision of facilities for navigation and 
for power. 

The greatest single example of the triumph of irrigation in Cali- 
fornia is seen in the big region formerly known as the Colorado 
desert. This is the delta of the river of that name, in the extreme 
southeastern part of the State, extending over the border of 
Mexico. Here daring private enterprise has undertaken what 
would have been an ideal task for the Government itself— the 
reclamation of something like a million acres of the most fertile 
land in the world. 

So recently as January 1, 1901, not a single white man dwelt in 
the region, and even Indians were scarce. On January 1, 1902, a 
party of a dozen surveyors had the place to themselves. On Jan- 
uary 1, 1903, two thousand settlers had arrived. On January 1, 
1904. there were, approximately, ten thousand people there, with 
several towns, a railroad, telegraph, telephone, many stores, a 
national bank, and with seventy thousand acres in actual cultiva- 
tion. It sounds like a tale from the Arabian Nights, but it is 
absolutely true. And even the truth of to-day is pale compared 
with the promise of to-morrow. A great river brought under 
human control makes all the difference between hopeless desolation 
and the highest forms of civilization. 

California beckons to the waiting millions. By the grace of 
irrigation she can make room for them all, and not only make 
room for them, but give them a degree of social equality and 
economic independence such as no other land on the face of the 



32 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

<3arth was ever able to offer them. To those who want homes, 
who want to work for themselves, who want to provide a futurQ,^ 
for their children, California spells Opportunity. 



THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 



By lewis E. AUBURY, 

State Mineralogist. 



V. 

The world is familiar in a general way with the mineral wealth 
of our State, and the name of California is always associated with 
golden products ; but while gold has in the past been the chief 
mineral, and will be for some time to come, there are added almost 
yearly new discoveries of mineral substances of economic value. 

There has been a large increase in building operations in Cali- 
fornia within recent years, and with the prosperity that the State 
is now enjoying, it is reasonable to suppose it will continue for a 
long time to come. Builders and contractors have sought to avail 
themselves of the material within our borders, but while Nature 
has been kind to us and has supplied us with an abundance of raw 
material, man has been slow to take advantage of the gifts, and we 
find that instead of such material being entirely supplied at home, 
thousands of dollars' worth is annually imported. Notwithstand- 
ing there was $6,908,463 worth of structural materials produced in 
this State during the year 1903, an increase over the previous year 
of $2,799,440, the supply was not large enough to meet the demand. 

Until recent years a large percentage of California's buildings 
in cities as well as towns were constructed of lumber; but as mod- 
ern construction calls for fire-proof material of steel, brick and 
stone, there is no reason why the demand should not be supplied 
from sources right at home. Excellent opportunities are offered 
for the quarrying of granite, marble, sandstone, serpentine, slate, 
volcanic tufa, and other building-stones. 

Limes and clays are found in deposits contiguous to one another, 
from which the finest Portland cement can be manufactured. At 
present there are three established plants manufacturing cement 
in the State, and the demand is such that there is need for other 
plants. During 1903, 640,868 barrels of cement, valued at $968,727, 
were produced. 

With the demand which is being made for exterior building 
material, equally so is the necessity for supplying interior decora- 
tive material, such as marble, onyx, travertine, serpentine, etc. 
California abounds in these products, and splendid opportunities 
exist for capital to open quarries to supply the demand. 



THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA, 33 

In addition to structural material, a demand is also made for 
terra cotta, and pressed and glazed brick. Our very extensive 
<ilay beds, which can be found from Siskiyou to San Diego, and 
which are but little developed, offer desirable material to meet all 
requirements. In addition, many clay deposits have been found 
from which a superior quality of decorative pottery can be man- 
ufactured. We produced in 1903, of pottery clays, 90,972 tons, 
valued at $99,907 ; and of brick clays, 214,403 M, worth $1,999,406. 
California has large deposits of iron ores, and at 
Iron Ores, present we are confronted with the problem of a sup- 
ply of hard fuel for smelting this ore, and under 
present conditions the cost of a desirable natural coke is prohib- 
itive in order that we can compete favorably with the Eastern 
market. The solving of this problem, I believe, will be met by the 
manufacture of an artificial coke. Experiments in a small way 
have been conducted with our California coal combined with 
petroleum and other substances, and a product has been obtained 
which appears to meet the demands. 

We are producers of many mineral substances the raw product 
of which is shipped beyond our borders for reduction and refining. 
There is no reason for sending these away for manipulation, as 
better facilities for the reduction of both metallic and non-metallic 
substances can not be found outside of this State. With abundant 
■electric power and the low price at which California fuel oil can 
be obtained, added to abundant transportation facilities by both 
rail and water, there should be no reason why the products of 
California should not be reduced in California. 

To cite instances, let us consider that of copper. During the 
year 1903 there w^ere produced in this State 19,113,861 pounds, of 
the value of $2.520,997 ; and for seventeen years prior to that time, 
183,438,706 pounds, of the value of $25,549,309, all of which were 
shipped outside the State, principally in the form of matte and 
blister copper, to Eastern points for refining. 

Of non-metallic substances there were produced of borax, cover- 
ing the same period, 350,336,000 pounds, of the value of $13,355,043. 
This vast quantity was also largely shipped East and refined there. 
A comparatively new industiy which has been opened 
Llthia Miea, j^ ^j^g pr^g^ f^yg years is that of lithia mica, which is 
Lepid^olite. f*^^i"cl in San Diego county. During that time, 3,786 
tons were produced, of the value of $102,280, and the 
product of the mines was shipped to Germany and reduced, and a 
large portion was returned to lis in the form of lithia salts and 
tablets. 

The above are cited as three instances to show the quantity and 
value of these substances, and to illustrate some of the possibilities 
w'here refining could be carried on at home. 

With the recent development of the oil industry and 
Magnesite. its large use as fuel it has been found necessary to 
supply some resistant material which would with- 
stand the enormous heat developed in burning crude oils. Exper- 
iments were conducted with many different fire clays, but it has 



34 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

been found that among other substances, magnesite seems to meet 
all requirements, and on account of this there is annually 
imported from foreign countries a vast amount of magnesite bricks 
which are used principally in fireboxes where oil is burned as fuel. 
Deposits of a superior magnesite in almost unlimited quantities 
are found here, favorably situated for transportation, and thus 
the development of the oil industry opens an inviting field to 
exploit another industry, which is largely dependent upon it. 

The output of magnesite in 1903 was 1,361 tons, worth $20,515. 
The magnesite produced, however, was used principally in chemical 
manufacture, and it yet remains for capital to establish a plant 
for the manufacture of magnesite bricks, for which there is an 
eager market. 

Owing to the prospector's greater familiarity with 
Iifdustpv ^^^® precious metals his time has been mainly devoted 
to them. It is possible, also, that owing to his lack of 
knowledge of gems and their inclosing formations he has until 
recently overlooked a field which bids fair to be of great impor- 
tance. Southern California is the locality where the greatest 
developments have been made in the gem industry. In the past 
year the new lilac gem spodumene, which has been termed "kunz- 
ite," was discovered near Pala, San Diego county. This was 
the chief gem discovery in the United States during the year 1903. 
Many peculiar properties are possessed by this gem, and inde- 
pendent of its value as a gem it is attracting the general attention 
of the scientific world. 

In San Diego county has also been found many beautiful tour- 
malines, the product of 1903 amounting to $100,000. San Ber- 
nardino county produces a fine grade of turquoise, and in 1903 
produced $10,000 worth of this gem. Chrysoprase is also being 
mined in Tulare county. New discoveries of fine rubellite and other 
tourmalines have been made in Riverside county. Besides the 
above mentioned, many diamonds of good quality have been found, 
principally in the gravels of the hydraulic mines. 

Topaz, both white and blue, has been found also in California. 
Magnificent spessartite garnets have been found in San Diego 
county. INIassive green vesuvianite, which greatly resembles jade, 
has been found in Siskiyou and Tulare counties. The name " Cal- 
if ornite" has been given it. 

Gems of minor importance have been found distributed over a 
large area, and with intelligent prospecting the gem mines of 
California will probably yield great returns. 

This important commodity is at present being pro- 
Salt, duced to a large extent by solar evaporation from 
sea water, although a portion of the product is fur- 
nished by the desert deposits, in what is known as Salton Basin. 
The inland deposits are of the finest quality, and so extensive that 
California exceeds any state in the Union in the extent and quality 
of its salt deposits; and as more convenient means of transporta- 
tion are afforded, this industry is continually increasing in impor- 



THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CAT>IPORNL\. 



35 



tance. To illustrate the growth of it in this State, in 1887 there 
were produced 28,000 tons, valued at $112,000; and in 1903, 
102.895 tons, valued at $211,365 ; or a total production in seventeen 
years of 1,027,183 tons, valued at $2,642,817. As the constant 
increase of population in California and commercial requirements 
mean an increased demand for salt, opportunity is also here pre- 
sented for investment. 

It is held by some miners and metallurgists that 

Niter. almost every mineral can be found in California, and 

while the statement is broad, discoveries of new 

products are constantly being made. One of the most important 

to the State from a commercial standpoint was the discovery of 




XWErsTY-MULE TEAM HAULING BORAX. 



nitrate of soda in San Bernardino and Inyo counties, in the'Deatli 
A'alley region. Some of these deposits were discovered years ago 
and prior to the advent of the' Santa Fe Railroad, but on account 
of the long distance of transportation it was found to be out of the 
question to work them profitably. But now that the new Salt Lake 
Railroad and the branches of the Santa Fe are approaching them, 
renewed interest will be taken, and in all proba])ility within a 
short period another important industry will be added to the 
many which are in profitable operation now. 

A rough examination of the niter deposits has disclosed the fact 
that in area they exceed those of Chile, but sufficient exploitation 
has not been carried on to determine the depth of the deposits and 



36 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

actual percentage that can be obtained, except in a limited number 
of claims. To furnish an idea of the importance of the industry, 
and the steadily increasing- demand for niter in the United States, 
a few figures may not be amiss. In the year 1891 there were 
imported 99,663 metric toiLs of niter, valued at $2,579,930 ; for the 
year 1900, 185,022 tons, valued at $4,868,520 ; or an average value 
of $26.31 per ton. In considering the matter of niter production 
and consumption we should remember that the Chilean fields, 
from which we draw our supply, are gradually being exhausted, 
and that our soils which need fertilization, and our powder manu- 
facturers, are making increasing demands upon those deposits. 
It is only a question of a short time when these demands must be 
met, and this State will be looked to for the necessary supply. 
The deposits in California offer a promising opportunity for profit- 
able investigation. 

Like many other of the minerals produced in Cali- 

Copper. fornia, it has been only in recent years that the cop- 
per industry has received much attention, and it was 
not until 1897 that the amount of production had assumed large 
proportions, although the history of copper mining in California 
dates back to the early sixties. 

Copper has been found in practically every county in the State, 
the largest proportion of the metal produced being from Shasta 
county, where active development began in 1896. 

The industry has grown from a production, in 1887, of 1,600.000 
pounds, valued at $192,000, to 19,113,861 pounds, valued at $2,520,- 
997, in 1903. In the year 1901, copper to the extent of $5,501,782 
was mined, and for a period extending from 1887 to and including 
1903. there were produced 183,438,706 pounds of copper, valued at 
$25,549,309. 

A continuous copper belt, the longest so far discovered in the 
world, exists in California. But a comparatively small depth has 
been so far attained in the mines, and the results have been very 
profitable. Many excellent prospects have been discovered along 
this belt, but the lack of necessary capital has retarded develop- 
ment. A large proportion of the mines and prospects are situated 
convenient to railroad transportation, and abundant facilities exist 
for the economical mining and reduction of the ores. Copper min- 
ing is yet in its infancy in California, and while its permanency 
is assured, capital is needed for the proper development. While 
there are certain favored sections, other localities present equally 
good inducements, and at much lower figures than in some sec- 
tions where permanent mines have been developed. 

In the limited space of an article of this character it is impos- 
sible to treat this subject as it deserves, and to those desiring more 
particular information, the reader is referred to the "Copper 
Resources of California," published by the California State Min- 
ing Bureau, in which is given a full list of the copper mines and 
prospects in the State, together with the localities in which they 
are to be found, names and addresses of owners, etc. 



THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 37 

California is the only state in the Union that pro- 
Quieksilver. duces any commercial amount of quicksilver. In the 

year 1903, in the relative rank of minerals produced, 
quicksilver occupied the fifth place, with a record of 32,094 flasks, 
valued at $1,335,954. This mineral was mined as far back as 
1850 at the New Almaden mine, in Santa Clara county, which 
was the sole producer until 1860, when the large demand for 
quicksilver caused an active interest in development. From July, 
1850, to April, 1896, there were produced from New Almaden 
953,018 flasks of 76V2 pounds each, or 36,452.94 tons of quicksilver. 
From 1887 to and including 1903 there were produced from the 
various mines 496,623 flasks of quicksilver, valued at $20,530,727. 
For many years the total annual value of production has varied 
comparatively little. 

Quicksilver has been found principally in the coast counties, 
and while occurrences have been noted in the Sierra Nevada range, 
the deposits in this range have not so far been found to be of 




LARGEST QUICKSILVER MINE IN THE WORLD — NEW ALMADEN. 

importance. In the past three years a renewed interest has been 
taken in quicksilver mining, and several old mines have been 
reopened. Comparatively little development work has been per- 
formed on prospects, of which there are many promising ones, 
principally in the counties of Lake, Colusa, Napa, Sonoma, Santa 
Clara, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Fresno. [Monterey, and Merced. 

No mineral substance has of recent years proved of 
Petpoleum. so much importance to California as petroleum. 

Wliile the permanence of the oil fields was questioned 
at the time they were but partly developed, there is at present no 
doubt as to the large supply which will be available to meet all 
requirements for many years to come. The oil industry is in its 
infancy, and the oil reservoirs have scarcely been touched— those 
which underlie the great San Joaquin valley, the region south of 
Tehachapi and the valleys of the coast counties. 

The price of oil has remained for some time at a low figure, but 
in my opinion it will be but a short time when the producer will 
obtain a much better price; and while making it highly profitable 



38 



CALIFOKXIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



to him, oil will be sold at such a figure as to allow the consumer 
to use it much more economically than hard fuels. California 
was not prepared to use such a large amount of petroleum as was 
so suddenly thrown upon the market. The use of oil as a fuel on 
this coast was new, and until it had been developed that a perma- 
nent supply was available, those requiring fuel were skeptical and 
were in no haste to adopt it. Now that the question of supply 
has been satisfactorily settled, changes have been rapidly made 
from hard to liquid fuel, and its manifold advantages are made 
apparent to the consumer. 

The gro-wth of this important industry may be shown by the 
production of petroleum in 1887, which was 678,572 barrels, valued 




KERX KIVER OIL IIELDS. 



at $1,357,144, and the production of 1903, which was 24.340,839 
barrels, worth $7,313,271, thus giving it second place in relative 
value of minerals produced for that year. The total production 
of petroleum from 1887 to and including 1903 was 64,021,056 bar- 
rels, valued at $34,381,268. 

Gold still maintains the lead in the mineral products 
Gold. of California. As new methods for the economical 

mining and reduction of gold are being introduced, 
the large amount of low-grade ores which in the past were not 
Avorkable are now attracting the attention of investors. Electric 
power transmission lines have been constructed through most of 
the districts of Northern and Central California, thus reducing an 
important item of cost. Thi-ough Southern California, in most of 



THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 



39 



the mining districts, crude oil is used almost exclusively, and 
many desert mines which would have found it impossible to oper- 
ate to advantage but for a cheap liquid fuel are now being 
developed. 

Since the anti-debris law went into effect, hydraulic mining -has 
been carried on chiefly in Northern California where the streams 
empty into the Pacific Ocean and not into navigable rivers. In 
the regions where this class of mining was formerly carried on, 
and where the debris law caused a cesvsation of hydraulic mining, 
drift mining is being vigorously prosecuted. These old channels 
extend from Siskiyou county in the north to Tuolumne county in 
the south — several hundred miles. 




GOLD DKEDCIINi; — OHOVILLE. 

Where the many mountain streams empty into the 
Dredging-. Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys immense quan- 
tities of gold-bearing gravel have been deposited, and 
in order to recover the gold, dredges of different types have been 
introduced, which elevate the gravel, separate the coarse material 
and stack it to one side, the finer gravel containing the gold being 
passed over plates and riffles which recover it. The first dredge 
was installed at Oroville. Butte county, and the success which it 
met caused the employment of many others in that vicinity. Many 
improvements have been made, which have very materially reduced 
the cost of operation, until at the present time the larger dredges 
are able to handle the gravel at a cost approximately of 41/2 cents 
per cubic yard. The gravel varies in value from 10 to 50 cents 



40 CALIFORXIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

per cubic yard, although in some instances the latter value is 
exceeded. So successful were the dredging operations around 
Oroville that numerous companies have in the past few years com- 
menced operations in many other localities, and dredge mining 
to-d-ay offers one of the safest classes of investments that can be 
made. 

The gold-bearing ores of California are mostly free milling and 
concentrating in character, and where this condition does not exist 
the ores are amenable to cyanide treatment. As stated before, 
many improvements have been made in the treatment of our ores, 
and the high percentages now saved have made it possible to work 
many old mines at a handsome profit, where a few years since they 
could not be made to yield more than expenses. 

California at present yields between $16,000,000 and $17,000,000 
annually in gold, and from 1848 to January 1, 1904, has yielded 
the immense sum of $1,395,746,672. These figures, which are 
official, offer more evidence of the fact that California's gold mines 
are still large producers than any other argument which could be 
submitted. 

The aggregate value of the forty-four mineral products which 
are listed for 1903 is $37,759,040. This amount is increasing at 
the average rate of about $2,000,000 yearly. 

The purpose of this article has been to call attention in a general 
way to the opportunities for profitable investment in the various 
mineral products of the State ; but as lack of space precludes the 
possibility of entering into full details of each subject, for the 
information of those who are interested in investments in mineral 
products it is stated that detailed information has been published 
in the reports and bulletins which have been issued by the State 
Mining Bureau, Ferry Building, San Francisco. Also, mineral 
maps of the counties, on which are shown the location of the mines 
and deposits. Accompanying these maps are registers (or keys), 
with information concerning each of the mines or deposits. The 
Bureau also prepares an annual statistical bulletin, which fur- 
nishes the amount of each mineral product and the county in 
which it is produced. The last bulletin of this nature M^as issued 
for the year 1903, the production for 1904 not yet having been 
compiled. 



THE OIL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 41 

THE OIL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



By dr. C. T. DEANE, 

Secretary of the California Petroleum Miners' Association. 



Wliile for twenty-five years or move there has been general 
knowledge of the existence of petroleum in California, it has only 
been during the past five years that the great importance of its 
discovery has been adequately appreciated. 

Development work at different points has determined the exist- 
ence of a well-defined oil belt, stretching along the foothills the 
entire length of the State. It has been traced beyond our bound- 
ary, both north and south; spurs branch out toward the coast, and 
even into the ocean, as the Summerland district at Santa Barbara 
and the district lately developed in the northern part of Santa 
Barbara county. 

Some of the districts now in course of development produce an 
oil of 30 degrees gravity, while others go as low as 140 degrees; it 
is all, however, valuable, even in its crude state, for either fuel or 
refining, and unlike Texas oil, is free from sulphur. 

The production of oil during the last five years has been as 
follows : 

1900 4.000,000 barrels. 

1901 8.000,000 

1902 18.000.000 

1903 23,000,000 " 

1904 estimated over 30.000,000 

In 1902 California was the second state in the Union in the pro- 
duction of crude oil. I have no doubt that at the present time 
she stands first. 

The producing fields, beginning at the southern end of 
Ppodueing- the State, are as follows: Fullerton, Puente, Whit- 
Fields, tier, Los Angeles, Newhall, Ventura, Summerland, 
Santa Maria or Northern Santa Barbara district, Kern 
River, Sunset and Midway, McKittrick, Coalinga, Santa Clara 
county, and Half IMoon Bay. None of these fields, with perhaps 
the exception of Los Angeles, has as yet been brought into full 
production. 

The greatest oil field yet developed in California, and what bids 
fair to prove the most prolific in the world, with perhaps the 
exception of Baku (Russia), is the Kern River. Here are over 
4,000 acres of absolutely proven land, capable of developing on 
every acre a well of not less than 100 barrels a day. At the pres- 
ent time there are over five hundred wells pumping, which pro- 
duced in 1903 over 15,000,000 barrels of oil. There is no reason 
why this district should not have two thousand wells, with a pro- 
duction of over 40,000,000 barrels per annum. Baku, with only 



42 



CAIJFORXIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



2,400 acres of proven territory, has been producing 50,000.000 to 
75,000,000 barrels a year for ten years. We certainly can not be 
accused of exaggeration when we claim half the production from 
double the acreage. The balance of the oil produced last year 
came from Ventura, Fullerton, Whittier, Santa ^Nlaria, ^NEcKittrick 
and Coalinga. There are in the State at the present time 2,800 
wells. 

At the beginning of this year there were forty refineries in the 
State. These refineries make kerosene, distillate, lubricants, 
asphaltum, coke, and many other by-products. The great refinery 
at Point Richmond, on the bay of San Francisco, constructed by 
the Standard Oil Company in connection with its pipe-line 278 




OIL Wl.Ll.S Wiriii.N I UIU'OISATE LIMITS OF LOS ANGELES. 



miles long from Bakersfield, is one of the largest in the United 
States, with a capacity for handling over 10,000 barrels of oil 
a day. 

It was believed up to a few years ago that California oil with an 
asphaltum base coukl not be refined for kerosene at a profit, but 
the most of the kerosene we are using on the Pacific Coast to-day is 
being made not twenty miles from the city of San Francisco. 

One of the most important by-products is asphaltum. 
Asphaltum. This contains 99 per cent bitumen, and is absolutely 
impervious to water; consequently asphalt from oil is 
pure, while that imported is not in our sense a true asphalt at all, 
but a kind of bituminous rock filled with foreign substances, which 
are soluble in water, therefore easily destroyed by rains washing 



THE OIL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



43 



out these particles of extraneous matter and leaving holes in the 
pavement made with it. 

In 1898 the output of asphalt from California refineries was 
12,000 tons, while last year it had increased to 100,000 tons. Of 
this last figure, 90 per cent was exported to the Atlantic States and 
Europe. 

There are seventeen refineries producing asphalt at present, but 
the industry is growing so fast that inside of five years, it is 
believed, twice seventeen will be required to supply the demand. 
The oils of the Kern River and Sunset fields carry from 30 to 40 
per cent asphalt. 

The amount of asphalt required for paving purposes alone, in 




OIL WELLS I^^ TnE OCEAN SUMMERLAND, SANTA BAKBARA COUNTY. 

the United States, aggregates over 200,000 tons per annum. There 
are so many uses for this valuable by-product, in building, roofing 
(which strange to say is almost fire-proof), laying the floors of 
cellars, curing the porosity of brick walls, etc., that a large amount 
of the oil production will be absorbed in this way. It takes about 
twenty-two barrels of crude oil to produce one ton of refined 
asphalt. 

The substitution of oil for coal in manufacturing plants and on 
railroads has necessarily displaced large quantities of the latter 
fuel. As California has little good coal, we import most of it 
from foreign countries, thereby sending out of the State millions 
of dollars a year; this money is now retained here and goes into 
the channels of trade. 



44 



CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



The amount of coal imported into San Francisco duriuir the past 
four years was as folloAvs : 

1900 l.C.24,120 tons. 

1001 1.444,404 " 

1902 1.20.5,082 " 

1903 1,152,816 " 

Showing a falling oft' of more than 100,000 tons each year, and a 
dilferenee of nearly 500,000 tons between the years 1900 and 
1903 ; and this at a time when business was more active than it had 
been for many years. Assuming that last year we consumed 
20,000,000 barrels of oil, it would have taken 5,000,000 tons of coal 
at $6.50 a ton to have done the work that this oil did ; or if we 
estimate in dollars we would have sent out of the State $30,000,000 




OILI.NU R0.\1)S. 



to pay for this coal, but which we retained here toward the 
upbuilding of the commonwealth. 

There is rapidly developing a large demand for oil in the 
sprinkling of roads. An oiled road is so much smoother, more 
durable, cleaner and less costl}^ that the rural authorities are fast 
adopting the plan of dressing them with oil ; and even in the city 
of San Francisco the driveways in Golden Gate Park, which bor- 
ders the Pacific Ocean, have been oiled for the past four years. It 
takes about 150 barrels of oil to oil a mile of road (the oil has to 
be heated to get the best results), and it costs less than $200 per 
mile. There will probably be at least 1,000,000 barrels used in 
1904 for this purpose. 

Throughout the State we have already over two hundred miles 
of county roads, smooth and free from dust, by the application of 
oil, and it is only a question of a very few years before such a thing 
as a dustv or muddv road Avill be a curiositv. 



THE OIL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 45 

The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads are using oil exclu- 
sively in their locomotives and machine shops, and it is estimated 
that when they get their tankage set, these roads will use not less 
than 12,000,000 barrels a year. A locomotive uses about twenty- 
three barrels of oil a day. It is estimated that the Southern Pacific 
Company saves over $5,000,000 per annum by the substitution of 
oil for coal. These roads have also oiled their tracks for many 
hundreds of miles. 

Nearly all the gas companies in California are now using oil in 
the manufacture of that illuminant. As there is in the neighbor- 
hood of 16,000,000 feet of gas used in a day, there will be consumed 
over 1,000,000 barrels of oil per annum in this industry. 

California is as independent in the matter of cheap fuel as is 
any of the Atlantic States. Her oil is a better steam maker than 
coal, cheaper and more easily obtained. The oil fields already 
discovered could easily produce 200,000,000 barrels per annum 
(equal to 50,000,000 tons of coal), and there are other fields which 
have not yet been touched and may not be for many years; but 
the oil is there, and when the necessity arises the development 
will be made. 

Mr. Paul Prutzman, one of the best informed experts 
Cost of in California, writing to "London Petroleum Review," 
Wells. saj^R: "Data are not at hand from which to state 

definitely the cost of completing a well, except in the 
Kern River field ; in fact, at no other point are conditions uniform 
enough to allow one figure to apply to all parts of a field. In this 
district the average depth is about 1,000 feet, and wells can be 
contracted, including casing, at about $3,000 per well when sev- 
eral are to be drilled at once. Pumping rig and steam plant will, 
under the same conditions, add about $1,000 per well, and general 
improvements another $1,000, bringing cost of completed well to 
about $5,000. In the Sunset district the average depth is some- 
what less, but cost of well would be about the same as at Kern ; in 
the jMidway there is much more range of depth, and cost would run 
from $5,000 to $10,000; at McKittrick about the same; and at 
Coalinga, from $4,000 to $8,000." 

The cost of oil lands varies; the most expensive is in the Kern 
River district, where the little proven land there is for sale is held 
at about $5,000 an acre. In almost any of the other districts good 
land can be obtained for about $1,000 an acre. Of course, this last 
price is determined largely by the value of improvements surround- 
ing the property. There is always plenty of land to lease on 
royalty, and the ordinary royalty paid is from 12 to 20 per cent. 

The life of an oil district depends upon the number of 
Life of Oil proven acres and the depth of the oil land. Experts 
Wells in contend that about 20 per cent of the sand is oil, and 
California, that about SO per cent of the oil contained in the sand 
can be recovered; consequently, in a district where 
the sand is 300 feet thick, there should be a little less than half a 
million barrels to the acre, or a patch of 20 acres, roughly speak- 



46 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

ing, should give 8,000,000 barrels. There are many wells in the 
Kern River district which have been pumping continuously at the 
rate of over 200 barrels per day for the past two and a half years, 
and Avhich show absolutely no diminution as yet. 



AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



By ARTHUR R. BRIGGS. 

General Manager of the California State Board of Trade. 



Under varied conditions, farming in California has more features 
of interest and presents greater opportunities than in any other 
State. The wide range of products and the peculiarities of soil, 
climate and weather afford abundant scope for the energies and 
experiments of the wideawake tiller of the soil. Despite the 
impression that prevails in states east of the Rocky mountains, the 
rules under which farming is profitable elsewhere are applicable 
here. The stock-raiser in any other part of the United States 
would not be at a loss to understand the features of difference in 
stock-raising in California from those which obtain in the older 
states, and to adapt himself to them. The successful and intelli- 
gent farmer in any other state would be equally successful here, 
and his experience wherever gained would be as useful. If the 
business involves less expenditure and less care on account of more 
favorable conditions, this would not necessitate the unlearning of 
anything, nor operate against the introduction of methods that 
have been successfully employed in other states. This statement 
applies to all branches of agriculture, for the reason that farming, 
like any other occupation, involves a fundamental knowledge, for- 
tified with practical experience, and the intelligence to understand 
the importance of adapting that knowledge and experience to 
different conditions. 

When it is understood that California, the second state in size 
in the Union, has a total land area of 155,980 square miles, or 
99,827,200 acres, of which 28.9 per cent, or 28,828,931 acres, were 
included in farms when the census of 1900 was taken, some general 
idea of its magnitude as a farming area is received. But no part 
of California has yet been developed to its capacity, either as to 
products or in the selection of such as are ultimately to be of the 
greatest profit. Intensive farming has been exemplified in several 
counties, but not one of them has its whole cultivable area in 
crops. Another consideration in estimating the agricultural possi- 
bilities of California is that the soil and climate are favorable for 
the growth of all the products— that is. valuable and high-priced 



AGRICUl/rUKK IN CATJFOKNIA. 4/ 

crops— which made the region around the ^Mediterranean unique 
and gave it an exclusive trade, until California intervened; also, 
that here in the same localities and in adjoining tracts, the raisin, 
the fig, corn and other cereals, and all the vegetation and fruitage 
common to the strictly temperate zone, thrive to perfection. 

That the extensive grain fields of former years have been or are 
being converted into farms of less acreage devoted to a new culti- 
vation, and that the combined harvester, which cuts, threshes 
and sacks the grain ready for market, with its thirty-two mules as 
a propelling power, is gradually being supplanted with the 
machinery suited to smaller holdings, are evidences of a new and 
more modern civilization which is in the line of industrial prog- 




COilBIXKD nAR\i;.STEK AT WOKK. 



ress. But this does not remove California from the list of large 
cereal productions. The grain product of the State, though small 
as compared with some former years, for the season 1902-03 
aggregated 537.909,500 pounds or 8,965,158 bushels of wheat, 
875,000,000 pounds or 182,291,666 bushels of barley, 12,085,200 
pounds of rye and 117,500,000 pounds of beans. 

Agriculture in California, it should be understood, has passed 
through several phases. Immediately after the subsidence of the 
characteristic era of placer mining, the cultivation of cereals began 
on a very large scale. Fruit was considered to be only of advan- 
tage for home needs. When it was discovered that green decid- 
uous fruits could be successfully marketed as far eastward as the 
Atlantic coast, and ultimately in Europe, and that the distribu- 



48 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

tion of canned and dried fruits might be effected on a larger com- 
mercial scale, other branches of farming began to attract attention. 
Intelligent experiments led to the discovery of many fruit varieties 
that could be successfully grown and marketed. 

The limit of products that may be grown in California is 
co-extensive with the range of products in all semi-tropical and 
strictly temperate lands. i\Ieans have been discovered to pollinate 
the fig, so that in California the Smyrna fig is successfully pro- 
duced, and promises eventually to suj)ply the world. That this 
is no idle dream is shown in the fact that already California 
raisin-producers, after but few years' experience, practically have 
the whole United States as a customer. The prunes of California 
have driven French prunes largely from the American market, 
and are pressing the foreign market for a leading position. Cali- 
fornia dried and canned fruits have secured the trade of the 
United States and have for several j-ears been extensively exported 
to Europe and to other parts of the world. 

No agricultural experiment that has ever been tried in Califor- 
nia has been a failure from the viewpoint of production. It is 
accepted as a fact that "everything will grow in California." Its 
great variet}' of elevation and of climate provide all the conditions 
essential for plant growth. The most forbidding deserts blossom 
like the rose at the magic touch of Avater. Plenty awaits only 
industry, intelligently applied, to give large rewards in all parts 
of the State, with the exception of the higher altitudes in the 
mountains. The foothills and the valleys, the interior and the 
•coast counties alike, are prolific in agricultural products. In the 
northern and central counties of the State crops have been 
•annually produced at commercial profit without artificial irriga- 
tion; but it has been demonstrated that artificial irrigation not 
only enhances the yield greatly, but is an assurance of success. 
Wherever there are well-established irrigation systems, fruit crops 
are certain and large. The southern counties of California have 
from the beginning been compelled to rely upon artificial irriga- 
tion, the rainfall south of the Tehachapi Pass being much less 
than in the counties farther north. The northern and central 
■counties have also of late years created large and successful irriga- 
tion systems. 

Governor George C. Pardee has recently pointed out what must 
arise in increa.sed fruitfulness from the great irrigating canals 
and their laterals. In an address on irrigation he said: "Here 
in California we have seen the benefits of irrigation. Thirtj^-five 
yeare ago the district where Pa-sadena, Redlands and Riverside 
now are was a desert on whose lean and dreary acres a few head 
of cattle Avere able to get a precarious living. It was a land of 
cactus, rattlesnakes, jackrabbits and coyotes. Out of what was 
then desert there go, this year (1903), alone 30,000 cars of 
oranges; several great cities now people its former solitudes, and 
Southern California has become a land of wealth and luxury. 
What brought it all about? Why, nothing but the wedding 



AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



49 



together of irrigation water and the desert. AVithout the irrigat- 
ing ditch Los Angeles could be nothing but the village it was 
before, and Pasadena, Redlands and Riverside could have no 
existence. There would be no oranges there, and the millions of 
dollars that this industry alone brings into them would not be 
theirs. A quarter of a century ago, Fresno county, that produces 
by far the greater part of the raisins the United States now uses, 
was practically a desert, worth, for sheep pasture, in the spring- 
time, two or three dollars an acre, although the average rainfall 
there is about nine inches per annmn. Since the water of Kings 
river has been put upon it, in that district where formerly the 
sheepherder was lord of all he surveyed there are now 65,000 acres 




AFTER THE THRESHING. 

of irrigated land. The great valleys of the San Joaquin and Sac- 
ramento, from Bakersfield to Redding, with the great rivers 
traversing them from end to end, now, with here and there a small 
and notable exception, raise but a tithe of what should there be 
raised. The towns are small and few and far between, and one 
rides sometimes for miles without seeing even a farmhouse. Yet 
the 20,000,000 acres of land lying in and immediately tributary to 
those great valleys is at least as fertile as that at Riverside and 
Fresno. And were its owners to put their dependence no longer 
in the rains that fall from heaven, but would turn upon their 
acres the water that now runs swiftlj^ by them to the ocean, vil- 
lages, towns, cities would spring up like magic, and, where now 
but tens of thousands live, millions would have their habitation." 



50 



CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



Some i(,lea of the fruit industry of the State may be had front 
the statistics of shipments for the year 1903. These are compiled 
by the California State Board of Trade, and are as follows: 
104,198 tons of green deciduous fruits, 299,623 tons of citrus 
fruits, 149.531 tons of dried fruits, 39,963 tons of raisins, 9,377 
tons of nuts, 69,689 carloads of fruits by rail and sea, 8.661 car- 
loads of vegetables by rail and sea, 9.733 carloads of wine and 
brandy by rail and sea, 88,084 carloads of fruit, vegetables, wine 
and brandy by rail and sea. 

There was a net gain in 1903 of 10,546 carloads as compai-ed 
with the shipments for 1902, of which 7.395 carloads were citrus 
fruits. Vegetables made a gain of 1,705 carloads; wine and 




O.N TUK WAY TO MAKKKT. 



brandy a gain of 865 carloads; canned fruits a gain of 1,356 car- 
loads, and green deciduous fruits a gain of 380 carloads. The 
raisin output in 1903 was greater than that of any preceding year. 
The shipment of oranges from Noi-thorn and Central California 
was 2,246 carloads; being an increa.se of 598 carloads as compared 
with 1902. Most of California's oranges are grown in the south- 
ern part of the State: practically all the fresh deciduous fruit 
was shipped from Northern and Central California. The raisin 
center is in Fresno county and vicinity; the prune center is in 
Santa Clara county and vicinity; of the dried fruit over 85 per 
cent goes from the northern and central portions of the State, 
and these sections give an exceedingly large percentage of the 
canned fruits; the walnuts are principally grown in the souths 



AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



51 



while the ahiionds are mostly from the north; the fresh peaches, 
pears, cherries, plums, apricots, etc., nearly all go from north of 
the Tehachapi mountains, which divide Southern California from 
Central and Northern California. The ainiual production of wine 
is now about 30,000,000 gallons. 

The beet sugar production during the year 1903 amounted to 
65,360 tons. This industry is capable of large increase and is 
attracting considerable attention. Experience and scientific exper- 
iments, as well as climatic conditions, attest the superior merits of 
California for sugarbeet-grownng. 

The opportunities for development of tobacco-growing are rec- 
ognized. The peculiar quality of soils in California renders fer- 




GKAIN BAliGES OX THE SACRAMENTO KIVEH. 

tilizing unnecessary for the tobacco plant, which is a material 
saving as compared with other states. The absence of frost during 
the growing season is a feature of importance in the cultivation 
of tobacco. Parties most familiar with tobacco-growing contend 
that it will ultimately be largely engaged in and be profitable here. 
Livestock-raising is very largely and successfully engaged in. 
The foothill and mountain districts, at one time erroneously con- 
sidered among waste lands, furnish rich pasturage— the higher 
mountain elevations in summer, and the foothills in winter— thus 
giving favorable conditions the year around. Animals in this 
State mature and reach their growth at an early age. A two-year- 
old animal attains about the size of a three-year-old in other states. 



52 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

A large area of alfalfa during the last few years has added greatly 
to the livestock interests. 

Stock-growers are now supplied with the finest breeds of cattle 
for all uses and extensive herds are found in all parts of the State. 

The breeding of hor.ses and mules has been a prominent factor in 
agricultural development. California thoroughbred horses have 
stood in the front rank for many years. 

In the earlier development of California the sheep industry 
became a prime factor. As late as 1876 sheep numbered nearly 
7,000,000 and the annual production of wool reached over 56,500,- 
000 pounds, bringing over .$10,000,000 to the State. Other agricul- 
tural pursuits became more profitable, besides the demands of 
increased population displaced sheep husbandry, and after 1876 
sheep-raising declined in importance. It is, however, still a large 
industry, both for mutton and for wool, and will continue to be, 
as the ranges unsuitable for cultivation in the foothills and moun- 
tains are well suited to this industry. The present production of 
wool for the State aggregates about 22,000,000 pounds. 

Hogs are extensively raised, but not in sufficient numbers to 
supply home needs. With the increased acreage in alfalfa and 
the extension of the dairy interests this branch of farming is on 
the increase. Indian corn, the great product of the Middle West 
for fattening hogs, is lacking in the State, and its substitute is 
barley, which is found to be equally well suited to that purpose. 
This branch of farming is capable of large increase. On account 
of the quick returns and the sure profit it afi'ords, hog-raising is 
attracting much attention. 

Despite the fact that every possible condition favorable to the 
poultry business exists, large quantities of eggs and poultry are 
imported annually. It may surprise farmers in the East and 
West when the fact is known that some farmers in California send 
to the town store for butter, eggs and chickens. Eggs and chickens 
are generally the by-products of the Western farm, but they go a 
long way toward the support of the family. The California farmer 
has yet to learn the value of the farm by-product. 

As to the profits of poultry as a distinctive and separate busi- 
ness, statistics are not obtainable, but there are successful poultry 
farms in this State. There can be no doubt of the wisdom of 
every farmer raising poultry for his own wants and some for 
market. 

The production of honey is worthy of consideration. In the 
central and southern portions of the State, and to some extent in 
Northern California, the business is made a separate occupation; 
the output is large and finds inarket in the East and West. As 
a by-product of the orchard and farm, bee culture has value. In 
orchards it has been found that bees aid in the pollination of the 
fruit-tree blossom. 

It will therefore be seen that agriculture in California covers a 
wide .scope and affords opportiuiity for important development. 
The last quarter of a centur}' has given demonstration sufficient to 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 53 

justify expectation far beyond any present development. The 
application of scientific methods is bringing into this department 
of industry intelligence and capital from various parts of the 
world that promises great results. This, coupled with peculiar 
climatic conditions, gives to farm life and the country home 
features of attraction hitherto unknown. Through quick and fre- 
quent communication with towns and cities by the introduction 
of electric car service, which the development of electric power 
makes possible, the element of ease and comfort is brought into 
intimate relation with rural life and the rural home. 

For free information in respect to California, address "California State 
Board of Trade, Ferry Building, San Francisco, Cal." 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



By E. J. WICKSON, 

Professor of Agricultural Practice, University of California, and Horticul- 
turist of the California Experiment Station ; author of "CaJifornia 
Fruits and How to Grow Them," and "California Vegetables in Garden 
and Field" ; Horticultural Editor of the "Pacific Rural Press" of San 
Francisco. 

Certain facts which are of great interest and importance in 
connection with fruit-growing in California are these : 

First — Fruit-growing and the manufacture of fruit products 
constitute the leading industry of California. The output, from 
its beginning on a large commercial scale about 1880, has sho^vn 
an average increase in value of about $1,500,000 per year, and 
has now reached a total annual value of more than $35,000,000. 
This constitutes California the greatest fruit-growing state in the 
Union. 

Second— The reasons for this eminence of California in fruit- 
growing are several : 

(a) The possession of a climate which insures the life and thrift 
of the tree or vine. This can be appreciated when it is understood 
that, except at elevations greater than those chosen for fruit plant- 
ing, there is no cold severe enough to freeze the ground and no 
winter-killing of trees. 

(&) The length of the growing season, the absence of summer 
rains, the brilliance of the sunshine, and the adequacy of sun heat 
promote size, beauty and quality of fruit and favor the manufac- 
ture of evaporated fruits at a minimum cost. 

(c) The combination of conditions, which benefit the growth of 
both semi-tropical and temperate zone fruits, gives California com- 
mand of a variety of fruits which no other state possesses in such 



54 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

fullness and perfection. This will appear more clearly as the 
different fruits are separately discussed later in this paper. 

(d) The occurrence in California of vast areas of deep, loamy 
soils, rich in plant food, easy to cultivate and encouraging root 
growth to a depth of ten feet quite generally and occasionally 
twice and even thrice that depth, as shown by actual digging. 
Though this is true, it is also true that shallower soils are success- 
fully employed in groAving fruit. 

Third— Aside from natural conditions of climate and soil, fruit- 
growing has reached its present eminence in California through 
the high intelligence, energy and business ability which are found 
in the agricultural population of the State. These qualities of 
citizenship have made it possible to develop methods of growing, 
preserving and distant marketing of fruits which are new and 
characteristic of California. The employment of these methods, 
coupled with the acceptable nature of horticultural work and the 
opportunity to pursue it nearly the whole year, renders it possible 
for a horticultural worker to accomplish with ease and comfort 
twice the work which can be compassed in climates which add the 
embargo of Avinter to the depression of hot, moist summer weather. 

Fourth— Bnt after all, and probably, the underlying secret of 
success in California fruit-growing is the conception of the tree 
or vine as a producing machine which must be developed and 
maintained in the highest degree of efficiency. This idea of a 
tree widely prevails, and in commercial plantings is sharply and 
diligently pursued. The tree must have the best shape to bear a 
fair amount of large, well-developed fruit. It must be a low tree 
in order that all work upon it can be most cheaply done. It must 
grow every year a sufficient amount of strong, new wood, and to 
do this it must be pruned to prevent over-groA\i;h and over-bearing. 
On the other hand, satisfactory gro^\•th and fruit-bcaring must 
also be promoted by constant cultivation of the soil and by irriga- 
tion and fertilization, w^hen necessary. It must be protected in 
its strength by the alisolute destruction of injurious insects, 
blights and diseases. All this signifies that the tree must be main- 
tained in full possession of its producing powers, and the Cali- 
fornia grower expects to stand beside his trees, constantly training 
and pushing them to their work and generously assisting them 
to all that they need to do it well. It is this conception of the 
grower's relation to his trees and the discharge of the duties which 
such relation requires, which have brought to California fruit- 
growing such notable success and wide repute. 

Fifth— Ca\\iorn\a fruit-growing has reached its present emi- 
nence because of the wide application of business principles in 
production and in trade. Many of the leading fruit-growers Avere 
formerly prominent and successful in manufacturing and com- 
mercial' affairs at the East and abroad. They brought to Cali- 
fornia the Avisdom born of experience. They invented neAv 
proces.ses and appliances and they applied the most adA'aneed com- 
mercial methods. Thov matchecl the favoring natural conditions 



56 CALIFUKXIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

of soil and climate with their o's\ti skill and energy in using them to 
the best advantage. They have demonstrated the advantage of 
cooperative organizations for handling fniits in the packing-house 
and in the markets so clearly that California methods are com- 
manding attention in all parts of the world. 



VARIOUS FRUITS COMMERCIALLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA. 

It may be most interesting and convenient to those seeking infor- 
mation about California fruit-growing to state a few of the lead- 
ing facts about each of the fruits, under its own name, and for ease 
of reference, an alphabetical arrangement will be followed in each 
of the groups into which the fruits naturally divide themselves. 

DECIDUOUS ORCHARD FRUITS. 

California has about 3,500,000 apple trees in orchard, 
Apple. of which one fifth are not yet in bearing. The success 

attained in growing a winter apple very satisfactory 
to the trade and capable of distant shipment constitutes this fruit 
one of the most promising and popular at the present time. About 
one thousand carloads are shipped beyond state lines and a con- 
siderable quantity reaches the London market, selling at the high- 
est prices. There are two distinct branches to the apple industry 
of California : one is the growing of early varieties like the 
Astrachan and Gravenstein for sale in the northern parts of the 
Pacific Coast and in the interior mountain states before the earliast 
apples can be ripened in those parts. The localities where these 
early varieties are chiefly grown for such shipment are in the Sac- 
ramento valley aud the foothills surrounding it. The forcing 
heat of the spring and early summer brings these varieties quickly 
to notable size, crispness and flavor. This heat, however, con- 
tinued into the summer and autumn, makes the same districts 
quite ill-suited for the growth of winter apples, which are pre- 
maturely ripened and lack quality and keeping power. 

The second branch of the California apple industry, then, the 
production of winter apples, is undertaken in parts of the State 
quite different in climate from that of the early apple regions. The 
requirements of a winter apple are full.y met by two main divisions 
of the State, viz. : The smaller valleys close to the coast, in fact, in 
some cases, the coa.st flats, where the exposure i.s directly toward the 
cooling breezes of tlie ocean which produce a cool summer — a long, 
slow-gro^\ang sejison, which develops the greatest beauty and high- 
est quality in a winter apple. Similar results are also produced by 
the climate found at an elevation of from 2,500 to 5,000 feet on the 
interior plateaus and in the mountain valleys. The coast district 
has developed a greater commercial apple industry than the moun- 
tains, because transportation facilities for .shipment are vastly 
better; but as the State advances the mountain districts will be 
employed in this production much more largely than at present. 
The greatest apple district of the State is the Pajaro valley, includ- 



58 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

ing parts of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, centering at Wat- 
sonville, wliicli shipped about one thousand carloads of apples in 
1903. The counties next prominent in apple-growing are Sonoma, 
Mendocino and San Luis Obispo, Avhile many other counties have 
good apple orchards in less total acreage; in fact, from San Diego 
on the south to Siskiyou on the north, localities exist which aft'ord 
the elevation or the coast exposures which favor the production of 
good winter apples, and planting is progressing in all these districts. 

California has about 3,000,000 apricot trees, which 
Apricot, stand in the open air without protection of any kind 

and bear large, luscious fruit. That apricot trees can 
do this constitutes one of the unique features of California fruit- 
growing and proclaims it different from fruit-growing in other 
states, for, excepting a few localities in other parts of the Pacific 
Slope, California has a monopoly of apricot-growing. And yet the 
apricot does not find all parts of California suited to it. The whole 
northwest quarter of the State, north of San Francisco bay and west 
of the high ridges of the Coast Range, does not grow apricots com- 
merciall}', nor does this fruit anywhere ascend above an elevation of 
1,500 feet upon the foothills. It is particularly a fruit of the pro- 
tected coast valleys south and east of the bay of San Francisco to 
the southern end of the State; also of the great interior valleys and 
lower foothills, avoiding, however, the low places in these valleys 
where spring frosts may injure the crop though the tree is not 
hai'med. For these reasons it is wise to choose locations for the 
apricot with some discrimination, but such large areas of land are 
practically so safe that the present great product can be several 
times multiplied if the Avorld's markets should favor it. The Cali- 
fornia apricot is of superior size and quality, and in canned and 
dried forms is finding a free field in the countries of northern 
Europe for any surplus which is not required in the United States. 
A point of advantage with the api'icot, as with the pear and peach 
and to a less extent with the nectarine and plum, is that it has three 
great lines of demand: first, as fresh fruit, of which 231 carloads 
were shipped to Eastern markets last year ; second, as canned fruit, 
with a product of 648,716 cases, each containing two dozen 214- 
pound cans; third, 20,000,000 pounds of dried apricots. Nearly 
3,000,000 apricot trees are growing in California; counties having 
over 100,000 trees each are as follows : Santa Clara, Solano, Ven- 
tura, Los Angeles and Alameda, while several other comities closely 
approach that limit. Some of these counties are five hundred miles 
apart and their success with the apricot shows how widely suitable 
locations are distributed over the State. 

The cherry is one of the lesser orchard fruits of Cali- 
Cherry. fornia, because the regions which favor it are fewer 

and because its commercial field is less; but in the size 
and quality of the fruit and the prolific bearing of the tree the 
cherry is a great fruit in locations which meet its requirements. 
The cherry requires a modification of summer heat and of the dry- 
ness of the summer air, and for these reasons it does not thrive on 



HORTICULTURE IN CAUIFORXIA. 



59 



the interior plains, even \vhen irrigation is employed to regulate 
soil moisture. In the coast valleys, however, in the upper part of 
the State, in the smaller valleys tributary to the great Sacramento 
valley and on the river lands, where depth of soil prevails and modi- 
fication of air-dryness is secured by abundance of adjacent water, the 
cherry behaves magnificently. Elevation also secures conditions 
suitable to the cherry in some cases, notably in Southern Cali- 
fornia, where the product of trees in mountain valleys at an eleva- 
tion of 2,000 feet or more is satisfactory and profitable, though the 
trees on mesas below, where citrus fruits thrive, are disappointing. 
There are about 750,000 cherry trees in California, of which Santa 
Clara, Alameda, Yuba and Solano have the largest plantings. 




DKYIXG FRUIT. 



Cherry-drying has never largely prevailed in California. The 
shipment of fresh fruit to the East has overcome its chief difficul- 
ties and is now rapidly increasing — the shipments of 1903 aggregat- 
ing over 200 carloads. Cherries are constantly growing ni volume 
as canned fruit, the product of 1903 being about 200,000 cases. 
The acreage at the present time is extending on the basis of the 
improving shipping and canning demand. 

The peach is the greatest orchard fruit of California 
Peaches, of the deciduous class. A tew years ago it was sur- 
passed in acreage by the prune, but the prune was 
over-planted in situations not befitting it, and such unwise exten- 
sions have largely disappeared. This restores the peach to the 
supremacy which it held previous to that unfortunate incident, as 



60 C.VT.lP^ORXIA : ITS PROnrCTS. RESOURCES, ETC. 

it has had no revevsos. but has rather gained continually in popu- 
larity. The peach has a very Avide range in California. It goes 
bej'ond the apricot in the coast valleys north of San Francisco; it 
goes beside the apricot -wherever the latter thrives in the interior; 
rises a thousand feet above it on the foothills, and goes lower on 
the plains into the frosted areas with less danger. The peach is a 
grand fruit almost everywhere ; it has a ripening season with 
different varieties and different locations from Ma\^ to December, 
though, of course, the midseason varieties constitute the great 
commercial crop. The varieties most largely grown are of Cali- 
fornia origin, being chiefly selected chance seedlings taken up by 
enterprising nurserymen on the approval of the growers with 
whom they originated. These varieties have gained fame by 
embodying qualities acceptable to three main lines of disposition 
indicated by these notes of the product, viz. : Shipment of fresh 
peaches overland in 1903, 1,867 carloads (the greatest volume of 
any deciduous fruit) : canned peaches, 676,000 cases (the largest 
canned product of any single fruit) ; dried peaches (1902), 
50,420,000 pounds (larger than any other tree fruit excei)t the 
prune). This product, as indicated above, is derived from nearly 
all parts of the State, though mainlj^ from the great interior 
valleys (the San Joaquin and the Sacramento) and the foothills. 
Four counties (Placer, Fresno, Tehama and Santa Clara) have over 
500,000 trees each, while Kings, Solano, Sonoma and Tulare have 
over 200,000 trees each. About ten other counties go above the 
100,000 mark. The California peach, though it is now eminent, 
has even a greater future before it. 

The nectarine is a smooth-skinned peach, but it bears 
Nectarines, no comparison with the peach in product or popu- 
larity. The canned product of nectarines is but 344 
cases, and the dried product but 600,000 pounds. California pro- 
duces a magnificent nectarine, but the demand for the fruit does 
not justify the effort. 

Because of conditions favoring the growth of pears 
Pears. of the most popular market sorts in greater beauty 
and volume than they can be produced in older states 
and countries, the California pear has connnanded wide attention 
in distant parts of the United States and, like the apple, has com- 
manded the highest prices for the fresh fruit in the London 
market; in fact, the pear stands next and very close to the peach 
in this trade, 1,719 carloads being shipped out of the State in 1903. 
The pear also is high in canning, the product being 423,831 cases; 
in drying, the same is true, as the normal annual output is about 
6,000,000 pounds. The ])ear resembles the peach in its Avide range 
over coast valley, interior valley and foothill situations, but it 
extends beyond the peach, for it goes to an altitude of 5,000 feet 
on the mountains and it descends to the lowest places in the 
valleys, for neither frost nor standing water can avail against it. 
It escapes frost by its slow start in the spring, and it endures 
water and even a degree of alkali in the soil by the hardy char- 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



61 



acter of its roots. In ripening, also, it is not injured by a degree 
and duration of heat which ruin the quality of a winter apple. 
Until very recently the pear was free from the "fire blight" in 
California, and there seemed no limit to the possibilities in pear- 
growing. At present blight shows itself, but is restricted in area 
and may be circumscribed. The pear census shows the existence 
of about 1,800,000 pear trees. The leading pear counties are 
Solano, Santa Clara, Placer, Fresno, Sonoma, Sacramento, El 
Dorado, Contra Costa, Yolo, Yuba, etc., but almost every county 
in the State grows the fruit in commercial quantities. The vari- 
eties grown are comparatively few and the Bartlett is chief, 
because there are fully two months between the first to mature 








J' 



^i <A 




CURI.NG PRUXES. 



in early districts and the last in late districts, and during all this 
time supplies are ample for shipping, canning and drying of this 
one exceedingly acceptable variety which permits no intruders 
while it is in season. The growing of later pears is limited, 
because the Eastern-grown winter pears are usually available 
in large quantities in the Eastern markets after the California 
Bartlett has had its run. Still, a few shippers are making excel- 
lent records with winter pears in distant nuirkets. 

By demonstrating the suitability of the climate for 
the free-fruiting of the choicest varieties of the 
European plum, California growers freed themselves 
from the burden of building up on the basis of the 
wild American species which Eastern growers have done with so 
much credit to themselves. California has no need to seek hardy 



Plums and 
Prunes. 



62 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS. RESOURCES, ETC. 

plums, for the tenderest are perfectly satisfactory; nor does 
California have to circumvent the eurculio and the black knot, for 
these have never appeared in the State. The French prunes were 
introduced at an early day and the product was so successful 
and profitable and won its Avay by displacing European prunes in 
American markets that there arose ere long almost a rage for 
prune-planting, the product of which, rising to nearly 200,000,000 
pounds of dried prunes in 1902, has outgrown the requirements 
of the United States and is being pushed for sale in Europe, 
even in France itself. Probably even greater success than could 
have been anticipated in disposing of this immense volume of 
prunes has been attained, and j'ct as free and pi'ofitable an out- 
let as is necessary has not been secured. The prune has been 
depressed, acreage has been somewhat reduced (as stated in the 
foregoing discussion of the peach), and at present there is a 
general sentiment against prune-planting, except where an 
exceptionally large fruit can be counted upon. Strenuous efforts 
are being made to popularize the prune as a desirable food, to 
push the product into markets in all parts of the workl. nnd to 
realize fair returns for such an excellent fruit as the California 
prune is conceded to be. Good results nuiy be expected from such 
efforts, but it is probably wise to be conservative about extending 
the acreage until some assurance is had. California has invented 
new processes of curing prunes by machinery and other labor- 
saving appliances, and has endeavored by human devices to 
match the economy of production to which nature contributes 
free sunshine and dry air. Probably nowhere in the world can 
so rich and delicious a fruit food as the California prune be so 
cheaply produced, and it is reasonable to expect that the world 
will need all that can be produced Avhen organization for distri- 
bution and trade is made effective. The largest prune-producing 
counties are Santa Clara (which has neai'ly one half of all the 
prune trees in the State), Sonoma, Alameda, Solano, Tulare, 
Santa Cruz, Kings, etc. — both the coast valleys and the great 
interior valleys participating in the production. 

Of plums, aside from varieties which arc dried without removal 
of the pit (and therefore called prunes), the production is rela- 
tively small and largely restricted to the Japanese and a fcAv 
other varieties which are particularly adapted to fresh-fruit 
shipments and canning. These fruits are largely grown in the 
districts where earlj^ ripening can be counted upon. The size and 
beauty of the shipping and canning plums of California are strik- 
ing, and the product reaches a good volume, viz. : plum shipments, 
fresh, in 1903, 1,145 carloads; canned plums, 125,567 cases; dried 
plums (other than prunes), 2,200,000 pounds. 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



63 



NUTS. 

California produces practically the whole of the 
Almond. ;ilinond crop of the United States and thus stands as 

the only source of a home-grown almond supply for 
American nuirkets. The California interest is large, comprising 
1.425.074 trees, and the product in favorable years reaches about 
three hundred carloads. There is, however, considerable irregu- 
larity in the annual crop, because some districts are liable to frost 
injury. The almond is a very restless tree during the California 
winter, for the temperature in the valleys is always near the point 
which induces blooming and rather a light frost ma}^ injure 




IIARVESTIXG ALMOIS'DS. 



blossoms and young nuts. For this reason it is very important to 
select locations for almonds where there is a minimum danger of 
frost. These are found on the bench lands around small valleys, 
while the bottom lands in the same valleys might be quite frosty 
and should be planted with later blooming fruits. Frosts are also 
less frequent on the plains of the interior valleys where there is 
a free circulation of air which tends to equalize temperatures, 
while on the river bottom lands the trees may be unproductive 
though growing thriftily. The almond does not thrive at eleva- 
tions in the foothills and seems to be a bench and valley fruit, 
but even within these limits locations must be chosen with close 
attention to local topography. The chief product is grown in 
Yolo, Contra Costa, Solano, San Joaquin and Tehama counties, 



64 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

which are all m the central and northern regions of the State, 
although many other counties contribute in a smaller way. 

The California chestnut product is small and consists 
Chestnut, almost entirely of the Italian variety grown in the 

interior valleys and foothills. The production of the 
best chestnuts of American and European varieties can be largely 
and probably profitably increased, but no particular attention 
has been paid to the matter, except by a few enterprising growers. 

On light loams all through the lower lands of Cali- 
Peanut. fornia, the peanut thrives well and makes a large 

in-oduct of exceptionally large, bright and well-filled 
nuts. In Southern California the chief product is on the lower 
lands of the coast region, while in Central and Northern Cali- 
fornia peanuts are mostly grown on the alluvial loams of the river 
bottoms of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, although the 
crop is sometimes raised between fruit trees on the light upland 
loams. The j^roduct is quite profitable to those who master the 
details. Though it might be a question as to whether California 
should enter into competition in the general markets of the 
country, there seems no good reason why the crop should not be 
brought up to the demand for local consumption. At present only 
about one fifth of the peanuts used in California are gi'own here. 

The pecan grows well and bears well in the lower 
Pecan. lands of the interior valleys. It does not behave well 

near the coast where the seasons are not well defined, 
nor does it thrive in the drier regions of the interior. On deep 
lands, however, where moisture is ample and where the approach 
of autumn is marked by rather sharp frosts, the pecan stops its 
growth and matures its nuts satisfactorily. The product has not 
yet risen to commercial importance. 

The English Avalnut is the greatest nut grown in Cali- 
Walnut. fornia, judged by the volume and value of the 

product, by the breadth of its adaptability to Cali- 
fornia conditions, and by the greatness of its outlook. The present 
commercial product is about one thousand carloads in a good 
season, and there are upwards of 500,000 trees in orchard— about 
ore third of the number not yet in bearing. The present product 
is almost entirely grown in three counties in Southern California : 
Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura, and the adjoining counties of 
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo stand next in acreage of 
walnuts. During the last few years, however, owing to the profit- 
ableness of the walnut, there has been a large planting in the 
central ])art of the State, and the product of the future will be 
drawn from a wider territory than hitherto. The walnut tree is, 
in fact, content with the coast, interior valley and foothill 
climates. ])roviding it has sufficient depth of soil to sustain it 
and to furnish the constant, but not excessive, water supply which 
it needs. Where the rainfall is large and the soil deep enough 
to retain moisture and yet open enough to prevent standing 
water, walnuts yield satisfactory results without irrigation. In 



HORTICULTI^RE IN CALIFORNIA. 65 

places with light rainfall or where the soil is too shallow or non- 
retentive to hold moisture for the long growing season, irrigation 
is requisite. There is, however, need to select varieties with some 
regard to localities. In Southern California a local seedling, 
known as the Santa Barbara soft-shell, is chiefly grown. This 
variety is not so well adapted to conditions in the upper part of 
the State. The French imported varieties and some California 
seedlings locally originated are better and are now being largely 
planted. These varieties are hardy against spring frosts because 
of their later blooming, and thej' resist the sun heat of the interior. 
The Southern California variety is injured by these agencies, but 
as they are reduced to a minimum in the Southern California 
■coast regions, the resistance of a variet}^ is not of as much concern. 

THE GRAPE AND ITS PRODUCT. 

The grape grows in all parts of California from near sea level 
on the coast to an elevation of five thousand feet or more on the 
mountains. It is contented, too, with nearly all fertile soils, from 
the deep valley loams where the great, fat, firm-fleshed grapes are 
gro-svn for raisin and table purposes, to the shallower soils of the 
high foothill and mountain slopes, where the grapes are less in 
quantity, but of superior aromatic quality. This wide adaptation 
gives an immense area suitable for grape culture, but the chief 
reason for the achievement and the promise of the grape in Cali- 
fornia is in the fact that the European species, Vitis vinifera, 
thrives, and thus the California grower has command of all that 
Europeans have accomplished in centuries by developing special 
varieties of the species for special purposes. The grapes of the 
states east of the Rocky mountains are not grown in California, 
because the European varieties are the only ones from which 
raisins can be made; they also furnish the world's wine and 
brandy and they give size, beauty and shipping quality beyond 
all comparison with American varieties. Wherever wealthy 
Eastern connoisseurs choose grapes for their glass houses they 
select European varieties; the Calif ornian grows his "hothouse 
grapes" in the open air. He also grows them without the cost of 
trellising, because most of the European varieties will bear well 
in short-pruned bush form. 

California has a large acreage of grapevines, and planting has 
been very active during the last few years, because good prices 
have prevailed. The number of acres of table grapes is about 
22,000 ; of raisin grapes, 90,000 ; of wine grapes, 100,000. Table 
grapes are grown for local use everywhere and for shipping, 
chiefly in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Placer, Fresno, Santa Clara 
and Santa Cruz counties, although other counties participate in 
this branch, which sent out of the State nearly 2,000 carloads in 
1903. 

The raisin interest is chiefly concentrated in the center of the 
San Joaquin valley in Fresno and Kings counties, though there is 

5 



66 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS^ RESOURCES, ETC. 

a raisin product of some moment in the Sacramento valley and in 
Southern California. The total product of raisins is upward of 
100,000,000 pounds. 

The wine and brandy interests are widely distributed through 
the length and breadth of the State. The product of the year 
ending June 30, 1903, is placed at 32,000,000 gallons of wine and 
5,700,343 gallons of brandy— the latter being exactly known, 
as it is under the supervision of the United States revenue officials. 

SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS. 

Space will admit only of reference to those fruits of the semi- 
tropical class which have reached considerable commercial impor- 
tance ; others which are at present succeeding with amateurs, and 
some of which may ere long reach economic account, are too 
numerous for discussion. Suffice it to say that the date fruits 
freely in central parts of the State and is now to be advanced by 
systematic effort through plantings on the Colorado desert by the 
United States Department of Agriculture. The banana is fruited 
for home use in many thermal situations. The pineapple is grown 
in frostless places near the coast in Southern California. The 
cherimoyer is found in the markets of Los Angeles, while the 
alligator pear gro^^Ti in Southern California reaches the markets 
of San Francisco as well. The latter fruit is quite hardy in several 
parts of the State. The guava and the loquat are produced for 
local use, and new varieties of the latter originated in Southern 
California are likely to be widely known. The persimmon and 
pomegranate grow in nearly all fruit districts, but only a limited 
amount can be profitably disposed of either locally or by distant 
shipment. Many other fruits deserve like mention, but must be 
passed over. 

The fig is one of the great fruits of California. Old 
Fig, trees attain the dimensions and aspect of oaks and 

bear so much fruit that it becomes of some impor- 
tance in swine-feeding. The tree is perfectly hardy in all coast 
and interior situations (except in a few places where the tempera- 
ture falls ten or twelve degrees below freezing) and no thought 
is given to protection. This fact, demonstrated more than a 
century ago by the padres at the old missions, naturally suggested 
the fig as a great commercial fruit and for decades it has been 
successfully grown, and trees have been reported to the number 
of 251,856 in nearly all counties except those of the mountains. 
Production has, however, been restricted by the fact that fresh 
figs do not take kindly to long shipment, and by the fact that 
our dried figs did not compare well with the product of Smyrna. 
This condition has, however, been completely changed by the 
experience of the last two years. The fig industry comes upon a 
new basis through the successful introduction of the pollination 
insect which is essential to the success of the Smyrna fig. Cali- 
fornia Smyrna figs are now being produced in considerable 
quantities and California is thus equipped to enter into compe- 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



67 




LARGEST GRAPEVINE IN THE WORLD CARPINTERIA, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY. 

62 years old ; trunk 8 ft. 3 in. in circumference ; branches cover one-half acre ; 
bears 10 tons of grapes a year ; will shelter 800 persons. 

tition with the time-honored Asiatic product for the world's 
trade in dried figs. Trees of the true Smyrna varieties, and of the 
wild fig which favors the multiplication of the insect, have been 



68 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

growing for years in different parts of the State, but the insect 
was absent and the trees unproductive. "With these old plantings 
and the new orchards now being planted, there will be a large 
product of higher-class dried figs than has been produced hitherto. 
]Much interest is now being manifested in this enterprise. 

The olive is another fruit which has been successfully 
Olive. grown in California for more than a century. The 

importance of the olive as a food in the south of 
Europe and its standing as an export thence to populous northern 
countries, coupled doubtless with its favored place in song and 
story, induced a premature popularity among California fruit- 
planters, and experience with the fruit has not justified all the 
expectations cherished for it. Planting has practically ceased 
and considerable acreage has been displaced. There are many 
difficulties with the olive which may be briefly mentioned : The 
popularity and acceptability of cheap substitute oils for salad 
purposes militate directly against profitable production of olive 
oil, because appreciation of the superiority of the latter is less 
liberal than expected ; pickled ripe olives are difficult to produce 
with good keeping qualities; the fruit itself is largely subject to 
interior decay in advance of maturity ; the trees of many varieties 
which have been largely planted are shy in bearing ; trees planted 
in dry places do not grow and bear as promised by optimistic 
promoters; the work of gathering the fruit and securing its 
products is more difficult and costty than calculated. The fact is, 
the olive was boomed in California along spectacular and specu- 
lative lines, and the industry must outlive the mistakes which 
have been made. California will produce profitably good olives 
and olive products in suitable places and through the efforts of 
masterful men and Avomen who can rise to the requirements of 
production and protection against imitation articles of the trade. 

Wonderful progress has been made in developing the 
Lemon, lemon industry in California, and imported lemons 

have been measurably displaced from the markets of 
the United States by the California product. New varieties have 
been secured, and new methods of culture and fruit-handling 
have been devised. The record of planting shows nearly 2,000,000 
trees now growing in the State and about 2,000 carloads of the 
fruit have been shipped to distant markets in a single year. 
Though lemon-growing is practiced in most sections where 
oranges are produced, the present product is chiefly made in the 
three counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Diego ; all of 
them coast counties of Southern California and the last named 
county is the banner lemon county of the State. The lemon does 
best in a practically frostless place, being more tender than the 
orange. For this reason the chief product is in the southern 
coast counties. In suitable situations in the interior, however, the 
lemon does well, but has been largely displaced by the orange, 
which has been on the whole more profitable and is marketable 
fresh from the trees, while the lemon requires curing and a 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 69 

good part of the crop has to be held from winter maturity 
to be sold in the following midsummer, when the chief demand 
for lemons occurs. 

California has accomplished more with the orange 
Orange, than with any other single fruit, and the advance 

during the last few years has been exceedingly rapid. 
At present, not only is the United States largely supplied with 
California oranges, but the fruit is being successfully sold in 
England and Germany. There are upwards of 5,500,000 trees in 
the State and the shipment beyond State lines has reached 25,000 
carloads. Nine tenths of this vast amount of fruit comes from 
Southern California, but recent plantings have been largely in 
the foothills east of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys in 
the central part of the State. The orange thrives in suitable 
situations through a north and south distance of over six hundred 
miles, and the topography of the State is such that similar winter 
and summer temperatures occur all through this distance. There 
is fortunately, however, some difference in the ripening of the 
fruit in the different portions of this belt, and the northern por- 
tion, because of its mountain environment and distance from the 
ocean, has an earlier spring and summer and is therefore able to 
ripen its oranges for an earlier autumn market. This difference 
distributes the fruit through a greater number of months and is 
of great advantage to the product. In fact, by choice of early and 
late varieties and by using the variation in the season of maturity, 
California can furnish fresh oranges in large quantities all 
through the calendar year and renders the country practically 
independent of importations. Another advantage peculiar to 
California is that the orange grown in a di'y summer is more 
dense in texture and has much better keeping and shipping 
qualities than an orange grown in a humid summer. The fruit is 
also more sprightly and refreshing, and though there is some 
controversy over the alleged superior sweetness of the Gulf fruit, 
the demand for the California fruit and the prices which it com- 
mands are evidences of its wide popularity. xVlthough the Cali- 
fornia growers have made the most energetic and systematic 
efforts for the wide distribution of the product, for several years 
the fruit has proven so acceptable that it is evident that the con- 
suming capacity of the United States is still beyond reach and the 
outlook for the California orange is very promising. 

The pomelo, or grapefruit, is also grown in California, but has 
not met the extent of demand which was anticipated. 

SMALL FRUITS. 

In California the term "small fruits" signifies only berries and 
currants, as the cherry is always classed by us with other great 
orchard fruits and the grape stands alone as the foundation of a 
great fruit industry, as has been indicated. Aside from supplies 
for home use and local markets there is a large field for small- 
fruit growing for shipment. Berries are largely used by canners. 



70 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

as is shown by the output of 1903, viz. : blackberries, 35,556 
cases ; Loganberries, 4,307 cases ; strawberries, 15,320 eases ; rasp- 
berries, 6,505 cases. Small fruits are also shipped from California 
to markets from one to two thousand miles distant in the interior 
states and territories to the north and east. The earlier ripening 
of these fruits in California gives our shippers an opportunity to 
place the product in this vast region, although there are home- 
gro■\^^l supplies later in the year. The growing of small fruits is 
scattered over the State, and the special regions are widely distant 
from each other. The most prominent for strawberries are the 
San Gabriel valley in Los Angeles county, the Pajaro valley in 
Santa Cruz and IMonterey counties, and the Florin section in 
Sacramento county. There are, however, many places which have 
a smaller acreage, but special reputation for fruit out of season; 
in fact, it is possible to find ripe strawberries every month in the 
year at some point or other in the State. 

A GENERAL REMARK. 

On the whole, the fruit products of California are being easily 
disposed of at fairly remunerative rates, and the business is in 
good heart and enjoys a bright outlook. There is, of course, fluctu- 
ation in the values of different fruits and in the market conditions 
which they meet at distant points. Such "off years" strike the 
fruits somewhat irregularly and are discouraging first to one 
special grower and then to another, and as our localities are 
largely given to specializing, according to favoring culture con- 
ditions, there is opportunity for complaint somewhere nearly 
every year. Still, we find that our fruit-growing districts have 
the busiest towns, the handsomest rural improvements, the largest 
assessment rolls, and are most attractive to homeseekers. While 
these things are true our fruit industries must be counted in 
prosperous condition, although the greatest anticipations are not 
always realized. 



ORANGE-GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 71 

ORANGE^GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



By a. H. NAFTZGER, 

President of California Fruit Agency. 



Entirely apart from the question of profit, the cultivation of 
the orange is doubtless the most fascinating of all horticultural 
pursuits. The hardiness and ready response of the tree to good 
care ; its perpetual rich green foliage ; the exquisite fragrance of 
its bloom, and the aromatic flavor of the fruit, all lend an unfail- 
ing charm. 

The coming of the orange into California dates almost, if not 
quite, with the coming of the Franciscan missionaries, who were 
practically expelled from the missions in Lower California more 
than one hundred and thirty years ago. Coming up into what 
is now the Golden State, they established twenty-one missions, 
scattered from San Diego to the Sacramento valley, all but three 
of which had gardens and orchards. The orange was among the 
fruits cultivated in quite a number of these mission gardens. 
These early plantings of orange trees were as much for orna- 
mentation about the missions and village plazas as for the fruit, 
and for nearly one hundred years the fruit produced only met 
the small local requirements of the scattered settlements. No 
authentic records are obtainable as to the exact quantity of 
oranges produced in those early years, as it was not until the 
secularization of the missions in 1834 that any inventories were 
made. That of the Santa Ynez mission reported 987 fruit trees; 
San Fernando mission, 1,600 fruit trees; San Gabriel mission, 
2,333 fruit trees. After the secularization of the missions, even 
the limited fruit industry of those years began to decline, so that 
General Fremont, when visiting California in 1846, reported that : 
* ' Little remains of the orchards that were kept in high cultivation 
at the missions. Fertile valleys are overgrown with wild mustard. 
Vineyards and olive orchards are decayed and neglected." A 
few of the mission orchards passed into the hands of the early 
settlers, who turned them to great profit. 

While, as stated, orange trees were among the earliest intro- 
duced into the State by the Mission Fathers, comparatively little 
was done in citrus fruit-growing until the last half of the nine- 
teenth century. The most extensive orchard of early planting 
was at the San Gabriel mission, supposed to have been set out in 
1804 by Father Thomas Sanchez. A small orchard was planted 
at Los Angeles in 1834 by Louis Vignes, and the same year, one 
by Manuel Requena. In 1841 William Wolfskill planted two 
acres, which was probably the first orange orchard set out in 
California with the primary object of profit. Other small orchards 
were set out at various points, including Old San Bernardino and 



72 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



Crafton, so that in 1862 there were said to have been 25,000 orange 
trees in the entire State, two thirds of which were in the Wolfskill 
orchard in Los Angeles. After this there was a somewhat steady 
but slow increase until 1870, when Riverside was founded with 
the special purpose to grow oranges. 

It was only with the coming of the railroad into Southern Cali- 
fornia, affording transportation for the products of the orchard, 
that the orange industry gained impetus. Prior to that there 
were no markets accessible for any considerable quantity of fruit. 

From 1870 to 1890 there was a veritable boom in orange-tree 
planting, which continues with considerable activity to this time. 
It is said that up to about 1873 not over $25,000 had been invested 




IRRIGATING THE TKEES. 

in the orange industry in all of California. Today the direct 
investment in the citrus fruit iiidustr}' in Southern California 
is fully $50,000,000, with fully another $50,000,000 of investments 
indirectly due to the citrus fruit business. This marvelous change 
was wrought chiefly by the coming of the navel or seedless orange. 
The history of the navel orange in California reads like a fairy 
tale. It has revolutionized the orange business of the country. 
It has been the means of transforming thousands of acres of 
semi-desert land into soil probably as productive and profitable 
as any on the globe. It has brought into existence on hitherto 
arid plains a number of toM'iis and cities ranging in population 
from 4,000 to 10,000 each. These settlements have become most 
progressive in every way. They are the homes of people of taste 



ORANGE-GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



73 



and refiuemeut, denmnding every modern convenience and 
improvement. Immense sums of money have been invested in 
water systems, trolley lines, driveways and boulevards, public 
libraries, schools, churches, and everything that stands for the 
highest type of civilization. As already stated, many millions 
have already been added to the taxable wealth of the State, 
through the advent of the navel orange into California. It is 
claimed that this orange was originally a freak of nature. 
Whether this be true or not, it is certainly the highest type of 
citrus fruit. 

In 1872 William F. Judson, United States consul at Bahia, 
Brazil, learned from the natives that a few trees were growing in 




SETTING OUT THE TREES. 



the swamps on the banks of the Amazon, some sixty miles inland, 
bearing oranges without seeds. Being himself of a scientific turn 
of mind, and having some knowledge of orange-growing as fol- 
lowed in Florida, Mr. Judson believed that seedless orange trees 
were well worth experimenting with. He sent a native up the 
river to cut some of the shoots and to bring back some of the fruit. 
On receipt of them, with which he was greatly pleased, he sent 
six of the shoots, carefully packed in wet moss and clay, to the 
Department of Agriculture at Washington. These shoots did not 
excite as much interest in the department as Mr. Judson had 
expected. Two of the six trees died from lack of care in the 
department grounds, and the others were almost forgotten within 
a short time. 



74 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

In the following year, Mrs. Eliza M. Tibbets, a native of Maine, 
was visiting in the family of General Benjamin F. Butler at 
Washington, then a Congressman from Massachusetts. Her hus- 
band had shortly before moved to California and pre-empted 
some land in what is now Riverside, intending to grow semi- 
tropical fruits. Through an introduction from General Butler 
Mrs. Tibbets sought of the Department of Agriculture fruits and 
shrubs suitable for experimental propagation in Southern Cali- 
fornia. Among other specimens she got from the department the 
four surviving orange-tree shoots from Brazil. These reached 
Mr. Tibbets at Riverside in December, 1873, and were immediately 
planted. One of the shoots died from neglect; another was 
chewed up by a cow. 

Five years later the two remaining trees came into bearing, 
producing in the winter of 1878-79 sixteen oranges— the first 
seedless oranges ever grown in North America. These specimens 
were carried about Southern California and exhibited to the few 
fruit-growers then interested in orange-growing. The second 
crop was a box of oranges of better quality than the first. This 
spread the fame of the seedless orange, and ranchers from far and 
near went to Riverside to see the trees. Some were enthusiastic, 
others were doubtful. The feeling among fruit-growers of that 
period Avas perhaps well expressed in a statement made by 
ex-Senator J. E. McComas of Pomona. He said : 

"I remember the time I saw some of the second crop of Tibbets' 
seedless navel oranges. Several of us seedling-orange growers 
went up to Riverside purposely to see what truth there was in 
the statement that Luther Tibbets had trees that grew oranges 
without seeds. We looked the two trees over and over, and 
sampled the fruit, and wondered hoAv it could be. Larger and 
juicier and more pungent fruit we had never knowTi, but it all 
seemed so freaky that no one dared to risk several thousand 
dollars and six or seven years in trying to grow navel oranges 
for market. Moreover, none of us knew how to go at having a 
grove of seedless oranges, because there was no seed to start it." 

Sure that there was a fortune in his new variety of oranges, 
Mr. Tibbets experimented for two years in an effort to propagate 
trees from shoots and cuttings from his two seedless trees. These 
attempts were failures. Finally he hit upon the scheme of bud- 
ding from the seedless navel trees upon seedling trees. These 
experiments were successful. So fine was the quality of the fruit, 
and so promising the returns, that the planting of navel orange 
trees budded from these original trees began in earnest in the 
early eighties. The demand for buds was so great that they sold 
for as high as $5 a dozen, and it is said that in some instances for 
$1 a bud. From this beginning has gi'own the enormous orange 
business of California. 

Less than twentj^-five years ago, as stated, the whole crop of 
seedless oranges in California was one box. From this small 



ORANGES IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS. 75 

beginning the industry has grown until in a single year we have 
had over six million boxes of this most delicious fruit! 

There are at this date probably 60,000 acres of orange orchards 
in California, chiefly navels, most of which are in bearing; and 
about 15,000 acres of lemons. This has been accomplished by the 
expenditure of many millions of dollars in water development 
and distributing systems and other things necessary to the 
development and maintenance of orange orchards. 

The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, in estimating the value 
of the various products of Southern California, places the citrus 
fruit crop first, giving its value at $14,000,000 per annum. 

During the period of ten years from 1892 to 1902, the product 
of our citrus fruit orchards increased from 1,325,000 boxes to 
8,577,000, or an average increase of 23 per cent each year for the 
ten years. A similar increase in the total volume of fruit is 
likely to continue for some years to come. 

This marvelous growth is evidence that the industry has been 
profitable. That it will be permanently prosperous there can be 
no doubt, unless the tariff wall should be broken down or some 
unforeseen disaster overtake it. 



ORANGES IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS. 



[From an article by J. Parker Whitney in Sunset Magazine. By 

permission.] 



The orange tree may reasonably be considered the king of fruit 
trees, particularly in California, where the climatic conditions and 
prolific soil are more generally favorable than elsewhere. 

It is unnecessary here to enumerate varieties, the object being 
to consider the navel orange and its commercial value. This 
orange— and especially the "Washington Improved"— may be 
admitted without discussion to be the first of all, by reason of its 
many superior qualities ; being seedless and compact, of superior 
flavor, and possessing wonderful keeping qualities. 

The first orange trees of which we have any record in California 
Avere set out at the San Gabriel mission, supposedly in 1804, by 
Father Thomas Sanchez, followed by others at Los Angeles in 
1834, and by William Wolfskill in 1841. The first planting of a 
tree in Northern California was by Jesse Morrill at Sacramento in 
1855. This tree from Acapulco seed was transported to Butte 
county by John Bidwell in 1857, and is still vigorous and bearing 
heavily. The first navel orange tree planted in the State was 
bv Luther C. Tibbets and his wife at Riverside in 1873. 



76 



CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



Some ten years after the plautiug at Riverside the navel tree 
moved north several hundred miles, reaching to Butte county 
and beyond, where it was found to flourish fully as well as in the 
southern part of the State; but its value and adaptability to the 
foothills of the central and northern counties, though appreciated 
by the few, were not generally known until recent years. But the 
fact does exist most clearly and distinctly and beyond any possible 
controversy, that the orange in its variety can be most successfully 
grown for several hundred miles north of Tehaehapi. 

The region in the north adaptable for successful orange-grow- 
ing is in excess of that south of Tehaehapi. The orange ripens 
in the central and northern foothills from three to six weeks 




A TIIKIl'TY YOUNG OltCHAKI). 

earlier than in the south. The explanation of this early ripening 
is the warm belt extending from north to south along the foothills 
of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where the average mean tempera- 
ture, sixty degrees Fahrenheit, is about the same as in the orange 
grove region of the south, but warmer during June, July and 
August. The nights are warmer than those at groves near the 
seacoast. 

The months of June, July and August are the most important 
ones of the year for the citrus fruits. The constant and greater 
heat in the foothill lands gives the orange great progress. Nor 
do the pests of black and red scale appear. Young trees from 
elsewhere showing scale, become healthful. 

The navel orange, however favorable the latitude, does not 



ORANGES IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS. 



77 



reach its perfection on sea-pirt islands, as sliown by the products 
of Hawaii, Cuba, and even Australia. Although the navel orange 
is a semi-tropic product, it does not reach its perfection in a 
region where the mean average temperature is much higher than 
sixty degrees. It is held by those familiar with the subject that 
so far as present experience goes, each region having its peculiar- 
ities, no region in the world exists, all conditions considered, that 
can compare with the foothills of California for orange culture. 

The navel orange in Florida has been a shy bearer. The sweet 
orange now grown there somewhat extensively is from lands far 
south, as the more northern orange lands have been abandoned, 
owing to the severitj^ of frosts and the cold weather. 




PICKING THE FRUIT. 



The magnitude of future demand is hardly estimated yet, but 
it will have to be supplied almost wholly from California. The 
earlier harvest of the Sierra foothills is of immense value, as it 
will give it a priority in the markets. 

The word isothermal has its application and definition in a 
supposed line of temperature over the surface of the earth, be it 
warm or cold, and is determined by careful observation as to mean 
annual temperature. California, commencing at the level of the 
sea, has mountain ranges of great height which reach to an 
average temperature of say forty degrees ; other ranges of less 
height, to an average of fifty degrees; foothill districts with an 
average of sixty degrees, and some deserts on a level with the 
sea— and in some instances over a hundred feet below sea-level — 



/8 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

where the average temperature is seventy degrees; so one finds 
regions of almost perpetual snow contiguous to those of tropical 
heat. Altitude does not wholly account for temperature, though 
affecting it ; for currents of air, influenced by the sea and ranges 
of hills and mountains, effect an apparently abnormal condition 
in certain districts. 

At the United States Weather Bureau a most careful daily 
record has been kept, extending over a series of years, of tempera- 
ture, rainfall, and barometrical pressures. This has become very 
valuable for reference, and maps have been published annually of 
controlling factors, and lines of temperature have been clearly 
established, with corresponding rainfall, which have an important 
bearing upon agricultural and horticultural pursuits. It is fully 
conceded that the region in California most applicable for the 
successful growing of citrus fruits is where the average tempera- 
ture is sixty degrees. BeloAv that is found too cold, where 
destructive frosts occur; and above that, although some citrus 
fruits do well, there is a marked loss of flavor in the navel, which 
requires the particular elements of the average sixty-degree region 
of temperature to impart the peculiar tonic flavor. None but 
tropical lands are entirely free from frost; even the southern 
desert land of the State, where the average temperature is seventy 
degrees, receives an occasional visitation. Some frosts are very 
light in effect, while the black frost, so called, which is hard and 
dry, is more damaging, and is more confined to the flat lands by 
the gravitation of cold air from the foothills, giving a remarkable 
feature favorable to the latter districts. Other foothill features 
result in the early ripening of oranges and consequent harvesting 
in October and November, avoiding the heavier frosts which occur 
in the latter part of December and in January, and which occa- 
sionally do much damage to oranges in other sections. Oranges 
when frost-bitten are impaired in quality, and decay rapidly. 

The State of California covers in latitude between 700 and 800 
miles, yet the thermal belt of sixty degrees mean temperature, in 
its meandering course north and south, extends over a distance 
somewhat exceeding 1,100 miles, and a width varying from 5 
to 20 miles. It should not be assumed that all of the land within 
the thermal belt is good land for orange-growing, but a large 
proportion of it is, comprising many hundreds of thousands of 
acres, where the fertility of the soil is unequaled and the supply 
of irrigation water is in excess of all possible demands. The 
isothermal belt of sixty degrees mean temperature enters Cali- 
fornia from Nevada on the east, at Mono county, extending south- 
ward into Kern county, where it somewhat abruptly turns and 
proceeds north through the counties of Tulare, Fresno, Madera, 
Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, 
Yuba, Butte, Tehama and Shasta. In the latter county, five 
hundred miles north of Los Angeles, it curves westward into 
Trinity and southward through Glenn, Lake, Yolo, Napa, Solano, 
Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, 



ORANGES IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS. 79 

and finally through Santa Barbara to the sea upon the west, 
having traversed or touched some thirty counties of the State. 

The orange tree is peculiar among fruit trees in several respects. 
It is longer lived than any other excepting the olive, and although 
its length of life in California has not yet been determined, it is 
found in other countries grooving and bearing at an age of several 
hundred years. It can be taken up and planted in other spots 
suitable for it at any season of the year, whether in blossom or 
with growing fruit. More tender in its infancy than other fruit 
trees, it is stronger in maturity than many others, and while 
neglect for a period will destroy the life and value of many 
deciduous fruit trees, from which a renewal of vigor and bearing 
is impossible, the orange tree will revive, with care and attention, 
to a vigorous bearing state. 

The navel, having no seeds, is budded on stock grown from 
other citrus seeds. It makes little difference what kind— seedling, 
the Mediterranean Sweet, the Tahiti, lemon or grapefruit. The 
latter is generally preferred from its supposedly stronger roots. 

No tree is more prolific than the orange in bearing, its weight of 
fruit often exceeding that of its own wood and foliage above 
ground and its roots below. Any good citrus tree may be budded 
from any other citrus tree, be it orange, lemon, citron or grape- 
fruit, and buds will grow and produce fruit strictly true to the 
tree budded from, without any strain of admixture resulting from 
the particular tree taking the bud. It is not uncommon to see an 
orange tree bearing both oranges and lemons as well as grapefruit. 

California's foothill lands have not been planted long enough 
in oranges to show the remarkable yields noted by some of the 
oldest orchards in the Southern California region, where as high 
as one thousand boxes an acre have been harvested, but some 
exceptional trees are now yielding from ten to fifteen boxes to the 
tree. The net average weight of a box of navel oranges is sixty- 
five pounds, and three hundred and sixty-five boxes constitute 
the usual carload. 

While the orange tree requires more care than perhaps any 
other, the methods are now well understood and are far in advance 
of those in vogue with the earlier growers and are not attended 
by any difficulties, but an eye to proper locality must be given as 
well as good soil and drainage. Irrigating water must be obtain- 
able and must be regularly applied during the summer months, 
followed by cultivation of the upper soil. 

The actual cost of plowing land thoroughly and planting the 
first year, followed by irrigation and cultivation, exclusive of 
land and tree cost, may be estimated at about $30 an acre. By the 
fourth year a well-managed orchard should pay all expenses of 
carrying on, and should each year after increase in its yield 
until a maximum of five or six boxes to the tree is obtained. 



80 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

THE OLIVE IN CALIFORNIA. 



By GEORGE C. ROEDING. 



The first olive trees to be planted in California were introduced 
about 1770 hy the Spanish padres. As the padres gradually 
l)ushed northward the olive tree continued to be a part of their 
fruit gardens, its product forming not only an important feature 
in the culinary department, but having an additional value for 
use in their religious ceremonies. Some of the olive trees planted 
by the padres are still to be found at several of the ruined 
missions, and although receiving practically no care, they con- 
tinue to yield fruit, bearing ample testimony to their longevity. 

The Redding Picholine, deriving its prefix from the name of 
the introducer, was the first variety of olive sought to be planted 
extensively in California, it being claimed that it was valuable 
for both oil and pickles. Experience later showed that it was of 
no value for the last named purpose, as it was too small. In later 
years it was grafted over to more desirable varieties. As it 
adapted itself so well to our conditions, the future seemed to be 
full of promise for the olive business, and varieties were imported 
from Italy, Spain and France. Within a few years these were 
widely distributed over the State before their commercial value 
had been fully determined. The invariable result followed. 
]\Iany growers found they had planted varieties which would not 
produce well, or which did not fulfill the recommendations of the 
introducer. 

This has been the experience in all lines of fruit-growing in 
California. The novice always wants to plant a large number of 
varieties, believing that by so doing he will be assured of a crop, 
as all of them will not fail to bear. Instead of this being the case, 
there is never enough of any one variety to make it an object for 
a dealer to handle the crop. As a consequence, orchards in many 
instances have been uprooted and other varieties of fruits planted 
in their place. 

Another serious drawback to the olive industry was the infesta- 
tion of the trees in the coast counties with black scale. This pest 
has now been overcome by the introduction of the Scutellista 
cyanea, a small parasitic fly which lays its eggs in the scales, the 
larvffi later eating the scales. 

The growers who have remained in the business and who have 
faith in its future have come to the conclusion that varieties 
adapted to either oil or pickling purposes are the ones to plant. 
The Mission olive (the one introduced by the padres) takes 
precedence over all others, and this is followed by the Manzanillo 
and Nevadillo Blanco. For pickling purposes alone the Ascolano, 
Obliza, St. Agostino, and Sevillano will no doubt receive more 



THE OLIVE IN CALIFORNIA. 



81 



attention as the industry grows. The last named variety is the 
one so extensively exported from Spain under the name of 
''Queen Olive." 

Olives find conditions congenial to their successful culture as 
far south as San Diego, and northward under the very brow of 
Mount Shasta. However, the interior valleys and a good, warm 
foothill location seem to present conditions more favorable to 
the growing of the olive than the coast counties ; the trees not 
only develop faster and produce larger crops, but the fruit 
averages larger in size and matures earlier, thus escaping injury 
from frost — a point which must have very careful consideration 
when olives are grown for pickling. It has been found that olives 




SORTING OLI\'ES. 



can not be grown profitably on rocky hillsides ; but when planted 
in a deep, warm alluvial soil, they respond to good cultivation 
as readily as any other fruit. Where sufficient moisture is not 
supplied "by the season's rainfall irrigation must be resorted to. 
In Italy the seeds of a thrifty wild stock are planted, and when 
large enough are either budded or grafted. The trees are grown 
exclusively in pots, and it takes about six years before they are 
ready for the market. In California trees are sometimes grown 
in this manner, except that the seedlings are planted in the open, 
in nursery rows, and the budding or grafting is done there, with 
the result that trees are grown in just about half the time. The 
most popular method of propagating olives is to grow them from 
soft wood cuttings, which are planted in sand, either on the bench 



82 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

of a propagating house, or in flat boxes about four inches deep. 
These boxes are then placed on hotbeds under glass, and after 
about five months the cuttings commence to make root. The fol- 
lowing season they are planted in nursery rows. A four-year-old 
tree has been found to be the most satisfactory for transplanting 
to the orchard. The trees should be planted about twenty-five 
feet apart. In former years closer planting was folloAved, but this 
was a mistake, and our horticulturists are becoming more and 
more impressed with the fact that better results are secured 
when trees are given more room in which to develop. 

A properly pruned olive orchard presents a striking feature in 
our rural landscape; the green of the foliage is so distinct and 
unlike that of other varieties of fruit trees that the contrast is a 
most pleasing one. To begin with, the tree should be headed low, 
not over eighteen inches from the ground, and a systematic 
method of shortening in and thinning out of the lateral branches 
should be followed the first four seasons in order to develop a 
well-shaped, vase-formed head. The prevailing idea that an 
olive tree requires no pruning is erroneous, for without it the tree 
sends up a mass of straight shoots, which, if allowed to grow 
unchecked, will present a bare and unsightlj^ appearance, and 
the only fruit-bearing wood will be at the tips of the branches, 
and there will be very little even of this. If the tree has been 
properly trained while young the pruning in later years will be 
an easy matter and the fruit-bearing branches will extend from 
close to the ground to the very top of the tree — an ideal condition. 

An olive tree will commence to bear four years after planting, 
and will be in full bearing in about ten years. Twenty pounds of 
fruit is a conservative estimate at four years, and this will increase 
each season until the full bearing age, when one hundred and fifty 
pounds per tree is a fair average crop. The olive, unlike other 
fruit trees, does not bear with uniformity. It often happens that 
with two trees of the same kind and apparently of equal thrifti- 
ness, one will be loaded with fruit, while the other will have a light 
crop. The trees bloom in the early part of May, and when covered 
with their small white blossoms and prominent yellow anthers 
present a novel and interesting sight. If one eighth of the fruit 
sets a big crop will be harvested. The blooming period is the 
most critical one, and although there is no danger from frost, a 
high wind or wet weather will very seriously afiiect the setting of 
the fruit. 

Where conditions have been found to be favorable to olive-grow- 
ing in California, crops are harvested every season. A failure of 
the crop is the exception. The harvesting commences in the 
warmer sections of the State about the middle of September. The 
green olives are picked at this time, the largest fruit being selected, 
and the most heavily laden trees are thinned out, as this hastens 
the maturing of the fruit. An overloaded tree will take fully a 
month longer to ripen its fruit than one which has only an average 
crop. Great care should be exercised in gathering olives for 



THE OLIVE IN CALIFORNIA. 83 

pickling purposes, for bruised olives will invariably go to pieces 
while being processed. The fruit should always be picked in 
baskets or buckets lined with cloth or burlap. Olives for pickling 
purposes can not be harvested for less than $20 per ton. 

No fixed rule can be laid down for pickling the olive, but one 
point above all others should be borne in mind, and that is not to 
penetrate the flesh too deeply with lye. Another great objection 
to our pickled green olives has been the lack of uniformity in 
color, and, when compared with the imported goods, dealers are 
justified in making this criticism. It has been intimated that the 
imported olives are colored chemically, but this, in the opinion of 
the writer, is not the case. The evenness of color is due to the use 
of limewater. This is easily made by dissolving about three 
ounces of lime to the gallon of water. After standing for about 
twenty-four hours the water is ready for use. In taking the 
limewater out of the receptacle it should be either siphoned or 
drawn off, so as not to disturb the lime which has settled to the 
bottom of the vessel. To each gallon of limewater add three 
ounces of lye, and allow the olives to remain in this solution until 
penetrated about a sixteenth of an inch. No further treatment 
with lye should be given. After being washed with clear water 
for a number of days, until all vestiges of the lye have dis- 
appeared, they should be immersed in a twelve-ounce brine by 
the saltometer, which strength should be gradually increased to 
twenty-four per cent. The olives are now ready to be barreled up 
and rolled away, and except for an occasional opening of the 
bung, to allow the gases which have formed to escape, and for 
adding new brine, if any should have evaporated, they will require 
no further attention. After six months of this treatment much of 
the bitter principle will be absorbed and the olives are then ready 
for market. Before marketing, the olives should be placed in a 
thirty per cent brine and the water used should be either distilled 
or boiled. Many of the large pickling concerns of the State do 
not bottle their goods until a year, or even two years, after they 
have been processed. This then, briefly, is the process for pickling 
green olives. 

The method of pickling ripe olives is much the same, except 
that it is necessary to give them a second lye bath, the limewater 
being in this instance eliminated. The second processing is given 
more for the purpose of securing a uniform, dark luster in the 
olive than for any other reason, and as soon as the olives have 
reached this point the liquid should be drawn off. The after 
processing is much the same as for green olives. In picking ripe 
olives much care should be exercised to secure fruit which is of an 
even color. It is an utter impossibility, however, to have all the 
fruit alike. The processing will do much to secure this, and where 
it does not the olives must be hand-sorted. The keeping of ripe 
olives has been the problem above all others which the growers 
have had to face. The ripe olives being so much softer, difficulties 
not to be found in the green olive have presented themselves. 



84 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Experiments in canning have been so successful that this will 
finally be the solution of this trouble, and canned ripe olives will, 
within a few years, be an article of trade just as much as canned 
peaches, pears, etc., are today. The ripe olive, wherever intro- 
duced, has found more favor among consumers than the hard, 
woody, green olive, and noAv that the difficulty of keeping it has 
been solved this branch of the industry will unquestionably make 
rapid advances. There is as much difference in the flavor of a 
ripe olive, as compared with the green, as there is between a 
luscious, ripe peach and a green one. Not only this, but the ripe 
olive is a nutritious, delectable article of food, while the green 
olive simply serves as a relish. 

Olives for pickling purposes sell for from $60 to $80 per ton, the 
price being regulated largely by the variety and size of the fruit. 

Olives to be made into oil can be handled at much less expiense 
than when they are required for pickles. When being picked for 
oil-making the fruit is either stripped from the trees, or knocked 
off with poles having a piece of rubber hose at one end, to prevent 
the branches being injured. A canvas sheet is spread under the 
tree and after enough olives have been gathered they are dumped 
into boxes. No precaution need be taken to prevent the olive 
from being bruised. Frozen olives make equally as good oil as 
those that are not frost-bitten, and the fruit can remain on the 
trees for a month or more before pressing and there will be no 
deterioration in the quality of the oil. Frozen olives have less 
water and consequently are more easily handled by the oil-makers. 
"When the olives are received at the packing-house they are first 
run through a fanning mill or an aspirator, to remove all dirt and 
leaves. Leaves, even if left in, do not seem to impair the quality 
of the oil. The olives are next crushed by heavy iron or stone 
rollers revolving in a shallow iron pan, built something on the 
plan of a large saucer. This crusher may be run by horsepower, 
but in all modern plants the machinery is operated by either a 
steam or a gasoline engine; the former is preferable, as the steam 
can be used for cleaning the plant. In crushing, the pits as well 
as the pulp of the olive are reduced. It has been found impracti- 
cable to do otherwise, and the statement that has been made that 
an inferior article is produced when the pits are crushed is a 
fallacy, just as much so as that the virgin oil comes from the first 
pressing. This is good trade talk, but is never carried out in 
actual practice. The first pressing is usuallj^ light and the 
resultant product is largely water. Before making the second 
pressing the pomace is again crushed and then placed in a larger 
press, which exerts a pressure of about two hundred tons to the 
square inch. This is followed in some instances by another 
crushing and pressing. This last pressing is largely a matter of 
judgment on the part of the man in charge of the plant. The oil 
and water from the presses are run into settling tanks. Here 
the oil remains for from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, when 
it is skimmed off into storage tanks, where it remains until ready 



THE OLIVE IN CALIFORNIA, 85 

for use. These tanks are built of galvanized iron and hold from 
five hundred to one thousand gallons each. After the oil stands 
in the tanks for six months it is ready for bottling. If the grower 
can afford to allow it to stand undisturbed for a year it is better. 
The oil goes through a sort of fermentation during this time and 
all impurities settle to the bottom. Before marketing the oil is 
filtered through several thicknesses of filtering paper to still 
further clarify it. 

One of the most important features to be observed in an olive 
mill is cleanliness. Olive oil is a great absorbent of bad odors and 
soon becomes rancid if care is not exercised in its manufacture. 
A ton of olives will produce from thirty-five to forty gallons of 
oil. When ready for market the oil is put up in half, one and 
five gallon tins; also in half-pint, pint and quart bottles. It 
retails for $2.50 per gallon, and quart bottles are sold for from 
85 cents to $1, the price being largely regulated by the size of the 
bottle used. 

California oil-makers take great pride in the purity of their 
goods and the oil can be relied upon as strictly pure. Oil olives 
sell for from $30 to $40 per ton. This is not a very remunerative 
price, to be sure, but olives used for this purpose are those which 
are small or defective and can not be pickled, so that making 
them into oil helps to clean up the crop. The great obstacle in 
the path of finding a ready market for pure oil has been the 
competition of the adulterated oils either imported from Europe, 
or prepared by jobbers who make it a business to mix the pure 
article with cotton-seed, peanut, and other vegetable oils. If oui* 
national fruit laws can be so enforced as to compel those engaged 
in this nefarious practice to label their bottles, showing the true 
content, it will do much toward building up a business in Cali- 
fornia. If properly advertised, olive oil for medicinal purposes 
alone would be in great demand, for it will do more good to poor, 
suffering humanity than all the nostrums so universally used and 
so vigorously pushed to the front. Advertising and putting up 
a thoroughly good and reliable article will do more to build up 
the business and develop it than any other one thing that can be 
followed. 

The annual output of olive oil in California is in the neighbor- 
hood of 150,000 gallons; green pickles, 150,000 gallons, and ripe 
pickles, 80,000 gallons. The importation of olive oil for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1903, was 1,250,823 gallons, valued at 
$1,557,517, and of pickles 2,115,844 gallons, valued at $770,194. 

California fruit-growers are persevering; they have overcome 
difficulties in other branches of the industry. Have we not every 
good reason to believe that they will be equally successful in the 
development of the olive business? We have not only our own 
market open to us, but there are also other countries where the 
charmed name California will cause the gates to be opened wide 
to admit this great health food from our sunny clime. 



86 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PEODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



Bt CHARLES BUNDSCHU. 



Few countries are more lavishly endowed by nature than the 
State of California. Its great possibilities are manifested in all 
its various agricultural products, but they are particularly dem- 
onstrated in its viticultural propensities when compared with the 
limited demarcations of other wine-producing countries. In its 
vast expanse of about 750 miles along the Pacific Ocean, with an 
average width of 200 miles; with its irregular divisions and 
innumerable valleys and elevations; with isothermal lines inclin- 
ing, contrary to the general rule, in a northerly and southerly 




direction, the geographical and topographical exposition of Cali- 
fornia embraces such a diversity of climatic conditions that grape 
culture may be successfully directed over a vast area within its 
border lines. 

In a general way California has already demonstrated and 
classified, by energetic experiments and subsequent experiences 
covering half a century, the leading characteristics and some of 
the preferable locations on hillsides and in valleys. Still new 
districts are being continuously disclosed and the immense possi- 
bilities of California as a viticultural miracle are bound to attract 
the attention of the entire world. The long stretch of the coast 
counties, from Lake down to San Luis Obispo (embracing Sonoma, 
Napa, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa 
Clara, Santa Cruz) has evidenced for years its special fitness for 
the production of exquisite types of dry table wines. Stimu- 
lated by the cosmopolitan experience of some of the foreign-born 
viticulturists the selection of vine-stocks includes the best assort- 
ment of the successful wine districts in the world. Every noted 



VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



87 



variety of wine grapes belonging to the famous order of the 
Vitis vinifera has been propagated in California. Remarkable 
results have been attained in the production of the highest types 
of dry wines in the northern districts. In all the coast and bay 
counties the prevalence of sufficient moisture in the atmosphere 
during the summer months favors a uniform ripening process of 
the grape. The management of vineyard estates in the Coast 
Range sections is rational but more expensive than in the valley 
districts, especially where the finest varieties of Rhenish, Bur- 
gundy, Medoc and Sauterne types require high staking and 
intelligent pruning. 

The great valleys of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, and 
south of Tehachapi, reaching out in almost endless stretches 
between the Coast Range and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, 
are the great sweet wine and brandy and raisin emporiums of the 
Golden State. From Tehama, Colusa, Sacramento, Yolo, down to 
Merced, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Los Angeles and San Bernardino, 




rich and full-bodied wines are being produced with remarkable 
success, challenging the famous types of the Old World into fair 
comparison. Wines with the full characteristics of Port, Malaga, 
]\ruscatel, Madeira and even Sherry (this most distinctive and 
precious variety) are ripened here and brought to a high degree 
of perfection. 

Nature provides the foimdation for magnificent results. 
Assisted by irrigation in the overheated valley districts, and 
supplemented by judicious fertilizing where the soil has been 
overtaxed and exhausted, she readily yields to laudable efforts to 
produce "wine that maketh glad the heart of man," wine that 
promotes and develops the instinct of true temperance, because 
Avine, refinement, sobriety and good cheer always stand together 
and are affiliated against alcoholism. 

It may be a matter of regret and justifiable criticism that wine- 
producers and wine-merchants in California have not as yet 
successfully developed and adopted a specific nomenclature for 
the designation of their products, and that they still cling to the 



88 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



classification of California Burgundy, Sauterne, Riesling, Chablis, 
Port, Sherry, Malaga, Madeira, etc. The reason for this may be 
explained, principally by commercial usage and trade conditions 
established all over the world, and by other natural circumstances. 
This may change somewhat in time. More progress will be made ; 
special locations and proprietors will become better known and 
their products more individually appreciated. However, it will 
be difficult to eradicate the once established designation of "Cali- 
fornia Burgimd3% Port, Sherry or Sauterne," except, perhaps, by 
generally substituting the local appellations: Sonoma or Napa 
Burgundy, Fresno or Los Angeles Port, Livermore Sauterne, etc. 
The vine-stock for red wines in the dry wine districts consists 
principally of "Zinfandel," a prolific, full-bearing red wine grape 
with a fruity flavor and pronounced acidity (possibly originating 
from the Austrian variety "Zierfahndler") ; however, all pro- 




gressive vineyards are supplemented by Malvoisie, ]\fataro, 
Grenache, Carignans, Mondeuse, Malbee, St. Macaire, Valdepenas, 
various specialties of Burgundy and Pinot, Camay, Trousseau, 
Beclan, Bouchet, Cabernet, etc. The leading white-wine stock 
includes the Burger, various kinds of Chasselas, Gutedel, several 
species of Riesling, Traminer, Semillon, Sauvignon, Marsanne, 
Colcmbar, Feherzagos, Folic Blanche, some varieties of Muscatel, 
Tokay and many others, whose vocabulary has often been slightly 
corrupted into dialectical uncertainties. Some of these white 
wine varieties are extensively used for brandy. The old Spanish 
Mission grape, introduced by the Mission padres, has almost 
entirely disappeared in the northern part of the State. Its great 
value for brandy and sweet wine production has been recognized 
and in new plantations in the soutli it receives adequate attention. 
According to assessors' retui-ns the area planted to grapes in 
the year 1902 covered 118,209 acres for wine grapes, 89,792 acres 



VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 89 

for raisin grapes, 22,674 acres for table grapes ; a total of 230,675 
acres, to which now an increase of 15 per cent may easily be added. 

The investments in the State of California in vineyards, cellars 
and plants, cooperage, general installations, and stocks of wines 
carried for trade purposes, may fairly be estimated to cover 
nearly one hundred million dollars. 

The ravages of the phylloxera and of the so-called ''Anaheim 
vine-pest" have been gradually equalized by replanting on 
resistant stock and by the opening and planting of new districts. 
The vineyardists hail with satisfaction the interest shown by the 
United States Department of Agriculture in fostering expert 
investigation and by the establishment of federal experiment 
stations of viticulture in California. 

The statistical data obtainable as to the total wine production 
of the State are not alwaj^s fully reliable. However, the following- 
figures give an illustration of our progressive development : 

Year. Wine. P.randy. 

1864 2.00f»,000 gallons • 20,000 gallons. 

1S74 4.000.000 " 297,000 

1884 11,000,000 " 383,000 " 

1894 18,000,000 " 1,754,000 " 

1902 43,000,000 " 3,564,000 " 

1903 32,000,000 " 5,776,000 " 

The yield of 1902 was one of the most prolific in the history of 
the country, while the vintage of 1903 was about 25 per cent less, 
but of superior quality. 

Since the United States government concedes and controls the 
free use of grape spirit for fortification purposes, a considerable 
amount of the grape product is distilled into brandy, to be turned 
back again into sweet wines. No grain spirits can be utilized for 
this process of vinification. 

Official returns of the sweet wine product for 1903 : 

Port 7,261,100 gallons. 

Sherry 4,639,300 " 

Angelica 968,700 

Muscat and Malaga 773,700 " 

Total 13,642,800 gallons. 

against 14,590,900 gallons in 1902 and 8,503,900 gallons in 1901. 

The vintage of 1904 may at the present time be estimated at 
about 30,000,000 gallons, of which amount one half may be readily 
shown at the end of the fiscal year of the Revenue Department 
to consist of sweet and fortified wines. The commercial end of 
the industry evidently apprehends a surplus in the latter com- 
modity, while the product of the dry-wine districts will just about 
cover the natural requirements. 

Efforts to increase home consumption of the pure wines of 
California should be intelligently extended. Too rigid concentra- 
tion and control of the product may curtail the effectiveness of 
distribution. Wise and judicious national legislation, protecting 
the absolute purity of American wines, checking unwholesome 
adulterations of our domestic as well as imported wines, providing 



90 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

methods of branding and labeling under true names and classifi- 
cations, eliminating imitation of brands— all this will have a 
beneficial influence toward creating public confidence and increas- 
ing the consumption. 

In this connection may be mentioned the praiseworthy efforts 
of the California Grape Acid Association, offering generous 
cooperation to the grape-growers of the entire State with a view 
to the possible diversion of the surplus of an extraordinary grape 
crop into new channels of usefulness, thus curtailing the dangers 
of overproduction. Their generous offer of $25,000 reward for a 
simple and profitable method of turning grape-sugar into com- 
mercial grape-acid has attracted the attention of many scientists 
in Europe and elicited many new suggestions on the value and 
usefulness of the grape as a food product. 

A great deal of good, progressive and substantial work has 
already been accomplished in California. The installation of 
wine-making establishments is on the lines of modern technically 
improved systems, facilitating the handling of grapes, musts and 
wines on a large scale. 



San Francisco, the greatest distributing and shipping center 
for viticultural products, has some of the best appointed wine 
storage-vaults in the world. Some of the leading plants represent 
many million gallons under one roof. Receipts from interior 
vineyards and cellars during 1903 amounted to 16,262,000 gallons 
of wine and 514,000 gallons of brandy, while the shipments from 
San Francisco by rail and sea for the fiscal year ending July, 
1903, aggregated 17,054,000 gallons and 55,748 cases of wine and 
brandy, most of it to American shipping points, although the 
trade of Central and South America, IMexico, the Orient and 
Europe already absorbs 2,500,000 gallons, with a continuous 
healthy advance. Next to San Francisco the city of Los Angeles 
is an important shipping point for sweet wines and brandies, 
while other California wine centers, such as Fresno, Stockton, 
Sacramento, St. Helena, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Asti, Cloverdale, 
etc., are also furnishing their proportionate shares for trans- 
continental transportation to Eastern distributing points. 

In conclusion, it might be stated that we may well be satisfied 
with the result of the pioneer work of the first half-century of 



VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



91 



California viticulture. May it never be forgotten that the unques- 
tioned purity of the juice of the grape, the honesty and integrity 
of wine-maker and wine-merchant, are the only dominant and 
potent factors for ultimate success in this, one of California's 
greatest industries. 

We are proud to announce that these conditions exist in our 
State. We have just demonstrated to the people of the world at 
the great St. Louis Exposition of 1904, that California stands in 
the highest class among the wine-producing countries of the earth 
in the quality of her vintage products. The grand prizes awarded 
to our wines certify to this statement in a way that admits of no 
controversy. The juries of experts at St. Louis in awarding the 
highest honors to California simply confirmed the verdict of 
millions of visitors who saw the wine display in the California 
space. The artistic installation of our collective State exhibit of 
wines made there, challenged the admiration of every visitor and 




PALACE OF VITICULTUUE, 

Midwinter International Exposition, San Francisco, 1894. 

served to illustrate the harmonious, progressive spirit of viti- 
culture that prevails in California. 

Over twenty-five years ago Robert Louis Stevenson, during his 
stay in California, wrote in prophetic anticipation: "Wine in 
California is still in the experimental stage ; and when you taste 
a vintage, grave economical questions are involved. The begin- 
ning of vine-planting is like the beginning of mining for the 
precious metals : the wine-grower always ' prospects. ' One corner 
of land after another is tried with one kind of grape after another. 
This is a failure ; that is better ; a third is best. So, bit by bit, they 
grope about for their Clos Vougeot and Lafitte. Those lodes 
and pockets of earth, more precious than the precious ores, that 
yield inimitable fragrance and soft fire ; those virtuous bonanzas, 
where the soil has sublimated under sun and stars to something 
finer, and the wine is bottled poetry: these may still lie undis- 



92 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



covered; chaparral conceals, thicket embowers them. But there 
they bide their hour, awaiting their Columbus; and Nature nurses 
and prepares them." 

His prophecy has been partly fulfilled, and we may well bless 
the beautiful State of which Horace Piatt says in his happiest 
vein: 

"On gently sloping hills, in nestling vales, kissed by the sun, 
begemmed with the dew and caressed by the rustling leaves, 
grows the enpurpling grape." 




GROUP OF HERMES AND BACCHUS, TAI-ACi: 01 
VITICULTURE, 

Midwinter luternational Exposition, San Francisco, 1894. 



RAISIN-GROWING IN CAIJFORNIA. 93 

RAISIN^GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



By D. D. ALLISON, 
Treasurer of California Raisin-Growers' Association. 



In this article it is not the intention to give extended statistical 
information, bnt more particularly such data as are likely to 
interest intending settlers who may desire to engage in the viti- 
cnltural business (the production of raisin grapes in particular). 

The total bearing acreage in Muscatel and Muscat of Alexandria 
vines in California approximates 70,000 ; and vineyards are being 
set out every year. 

Previous to the year 1898 growers would haul their raisins to 
independent packing-houses, and have them consigned through 
the packer to be sold on commission. This plan became so unsatis- 
factory to the producers of raisins that they organized under the 
title of "The California Raisin-Growers' Association." 

Under this plan all raisins delivered to the association are 
packed under the supervision and control of a board of five 
directors, who are elected by ballot at each annual meeting, each 
member being entitled to but one vote, irrespective of the number 
of acres he may own or control, by that means preventing the 
control of the association concentrating in the hands of a few 
large growers. 

It is admitted by all concerned that the formation of the asso- 
ciation was the means of firmly establishing this great industry. 
After the initial years of unsuccessful labor and investment the 
industry has become profitable and satisfactory, and it is the 
opinion of the writer, and of others better able to judge, that 
there is no danger of any permanent overproduction. 

It is not to be presumed that advertising is advocated for the 
purpose of calling attention to the fact that the raisin is a food 
article, or that, as a food article, it is superior to other cured 
fruits. The old custom of the housekeeper, restaurant or hotel 
proprietor purchasing whole raisins to be used by the culinary 
and pastry cook has become obsolete. In its place there is now 
what is known as the California seeded raisin. 

During the latter part of August or the beginning of September 
raisin grapes are generally ripe enough to be picked. Picking 
usually commences when the sugar test registers twenty-four 
per cent by the saccharometer. Having satisfied himself on that 
important point the vineyardist makes arrangements for the 
pickers. The pickers take two rows of vines apiece for con- 
venience, and, in a squatting position, with a small knife they 
dexterously sever each bunch of grapes from the vine, laying it 
carefully on the tray, placing all the stems in the same direction. 
After the picking is finished the trays of grapes are left between 



94 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

the rows of vines to be dried by the sun, and herein lies the par- 
ticular advantage of that section of the San Joaquin valley com- 
posed of the counties of Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare. In 
order to successfully evaporate the moisture contained in the 
grape when picked it is necessary for the fruit to be exposed to 
as dry a heat as possible. In the counties mentioned above, situate 
in the heart of the San Joaquin valley, the sky is cloudless the 
greater part of the year, and the humidity is at a minimum. The 
United States Weather Bureau records show as low a percentage 
of humidity as six per cent. Such a low percentage is almost 
unheard of in any other portion of the globe, w^hich is the reason 
why the excessively high temperature does not affect human 
health or comfort. In this locality, when the temperature regis- 
ters 110 degrees, which it occasionall}- does during an excessively 
hot wave, the effect is not at all similar to that produced by the 
hot waves so often experienced in the states east of the Rocky 
mountains. Sunstrokes or prostrations from heat are entirely 
unknown, and no matter how hot the hours of sunlight may 
be, it rarely happens that a refreshing cool breeze fails to blow 
throughout the night. 

The average time required to drj^ the crop is about three weeks. 
The grapes are left on the trays for about fifteen days (according 
to the degree of temperature), and then turned by placing an 
empty tray on top of a full one, and by a dexterous turn revers- 
ing them, leaving the grapes with the undried side exposed to the 
sun. They are allowed to remain in this position until dried, 
usually taking six or eight days. The trays are then stacked in 
piles of from twenty to thirty, where they are left to go through 
what is termed the sweating process. After a few days the raisins 
are ready to be transferred to the sweat-boxes, generally holding 
about one hundred and forty pounds to a box, and then hauled 
to the nearest packing-house to be stemmed. 

Arriving at the packing-house the raisins are weighed, and are 
thence trucked to the stemming machine, where the stems are 
separated from the raisins ; the latter being carried by an endless 
belt and run over different sized screens, which grade them in 
sizes. They then run through spouts into boxes, holding fifty 
pounds each. If to be shipped as loose raisins, the boxes are 
immediately nailed up ready for shipment. If to be placed on the 
market in the form of seeded raisins, they are transferred to the 
seeding plant (although only a recent invention, no packing- 
house is now considered complete without such a plant), where 
they are placed in a drier, and all moisture thoroughly evaporated. 
It is necessary to have them perfectly dry and brittle in order to 
remove the capstem from the end of each raisin, and also remove 
every particle of dirt or dust. From this machine they are trans- 
ferred to the steaming-house, where they are made pliable with 
steam so that the seeds may be removed without any unnecessary 
tearing or bruising of the berry. They are noAv transferred to 
the seeding machine proper, where they are run between rubber 



RAISIN-GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



95 



rollers and carried under a row of miniature saws and punctured, 
and the seeds forced out by another mechanical appliance. Con- 
tinuing on their journey, they arrive at the packing table, where 
they are packed in cartons weighing one pound each, thirty-six 
cartons being placed in each commercial case, in which condition 
they are ready for the market. It is only seven years since the 
seeding of raisins was first successfully accomplished, 300 tons 
being placed on the market in that year; whereas, in the year 
1902, there was shipped from the seeding plants of Fresno alone 
a total of 22,000 tons. Such is a brief explanation of the manner in 
which seeded raisins are prepared for market. 

We will now return to the vineyard, where the men are busily 




PICKIA'G AND CURING KAISINS. 



engaged in transferring the raisins from the trays to the sweat- 
boxes. It is generally profitable to pay the pickers an extra 
charge for sorting from the traj^s all large and fancy bunches, 
called clusters and layers, into separate boxes. These bunches are 
put up in fancy brands, viz., Imperial, Dehesa and Fancy Clusters 
and three- and two-crown London Layers, according to quality 
or grade. For the finest clusters the vineyardist will generally 
receive two or three times as much as for the ordinary loose 
raisins. Since the introduction of seeded raisins the demand for 
the lower grades of layer raisins has diminished. 
, In addition to the grapes that are picked and converted into 
raisins there is usually what is termed the second crop, which 
ripens about a month later than the first crop on the same vines. 



96 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

This crop is seldom made into raisins, the bulk of it going to the 
wineries to be converted into grape brand^^ and for which usually 
a fair price is paid, frequently netting sufficient to pay for the 
curing of the first crop. 

The work of harvesting the crop, etc., is usually completed by 
the first to the tenth of November, and you can then occupy your 
time as you desire until the following early spring, as there is 
little of importance to do until the time for pruning arrives, which 
is usually the latter part of January or the beginning of February. 

The difference in the appearance of a California raisin vine- 
yard before and after pruning is remarkable ; for, whereas, prior 
to the foliage dropping, the canes usually reach six and eight feet 
from the body of the vine, making the vineyard almost a solid 
mass of green, after pruning the vineyard has the appearance of 
a field of dried-up stumps. On each vine have been left a few spurs, 
about two inches long, all the balance of the wood or canes having 
been cut away. It is hard for a stranger to realize that a field of 
apparently dry stumps can produce the crop of grapes in so short 
a space of time as they do in California. 

After the pruning of the vines and buniing of the brush are 
finished, plowing and cross-plowing are commenced, and then a 
thorough cultivation, leaving the vineyards in as finely pulverized 
and mellow a condition as possible. Hoeing around the base of the 
vine, where the plow and cultivator can not reach, is then done, 
and next the suckers that have started are pulled oft'. If the vine- 
yard is well taken care of and in a healthy condition there is 
little more to do until it is time to pick, except an occasional culti- 
vation for the purpose of keeping the soil mellow and of checking 
any new groAvth of weeds that may start where the ground is un- 
usuall}^ moist. 

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the principal 
raisin sections of California it may prove interesting, and even a 
surprise, that the average rainfall is less than ten inches per year. 
The rainfall during the ten months ending March ,1, 1904, Avas 
only four inches ; and yet, vineyardists did not worry, for, so long 
as nature stores its water supply on the summit of the mountains 
in the form of snow, they realize that there is no occasion for 
alarm. 

Prior to the year 1875 the vicinity in which this article is 
written was a desert the greater part of the year ; the pasturing 
of sheep and cattle for three or four months of the winter and 
spring being the only use to which it was put. It was not until 
irrigation was adopted that the wonderful fertility of the soil 
became known. Then was commenced that stupendous system of 
irrigation which has been the marvel and admiration of the world, 
and which has transformed a waste into an amazingly fruitful 
region. 

Previous to the inauguration of irrigation one would have to 
sink a well from forty to sixty feet before striking water, whereas, 
at the present time water can be found a few feet from the sur- 



RAISIN-GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



97 



face, the soil having become saturated with the seepage from the 
many irrigation ditches. 

It is not the 'intention nor the desire of the writer to convey 
the impression that, having secured a tract of hind for a vine- 
yard, or having purchased one already planted, responsibility and 
care cease. On the contrary, it requires energy, attention, intelli- 
gence and patience to make an investment in a raisin vineyard 
profitable. Nature does a great deal for the tiller of the soil in 
California, but to reap satisfactory returns from an investment 
in her lands close attention must be devoted to every detail. 

To the intending settler the writer will offer the following- 
advice — and it is for those of limited means that this article is 
more particularly intended : Do not be in too great a hurry to 




STEMMING A^iD PACKING RAISI.NS. 



invest ; take time to investigate the adaptability of the soil to your 
requirements. Be patient, and endeavor to gather information 
from those having practical knowledge in the particular branch 
which you intend to follow. If your means are limited, and you 
•do not feel above gaining knowledge from practical experience, 
make up your mind to work on a vineyard for a time. You will 
thus not only gain a knowledge of the method of caring for a 
vineyard, but you will discover that the men with whom you come 
in contact in the ranks of hired help are sometimes better 
informed as to the matters which you desire to know than are 
some of the men who own thousands of acres. 

As already stated, the estimated number of acres planted to the 



98 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODItCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

raisin grape in the State of California is 70,000. They are owned 
by about three thousand individuals. In this estimate there is to 
be considered a large number of landowners who follow diversified 
farming. 

The price of land in its natural condition varies according to 
location and quality. Land located near a town is naturally con- 
sidered of more value than that at a distance, although the net 
returns may be less ; and to an intending purchaser for agricul- 
tural purposes of any description, considering the usual differ- 
ence in price, unless amply provided with means and not entirely 
dependent upon the returns of your investment, it would be advis- 
able to purchase a similar quality of land at a less price per acre 
farther removed from town. Unimproved land suitable for vine- 
yard purposes can be secured for from $40 to $100 per acre. 
After properly preparing the land and planting the vines it 
usually takes from three to four years for profitable returns ; but 
by planting the vineyard by degrees and practicing diversified 
farming, a person can realize reasonable returns right along until 
the vines come into bearing. 

The best guide for a stranger as to whether a particular locality 
is prosperous is to note the condition' of its public buildings, 
school houses, churches, banks, public library; its streets, street- 
car service, railroad facilities, and its residences; and in driving 
through the surrounding country note if the school facilities are 
ample, and if the houses are neat and attractive ; also, if the gen- 
eral surroundings have an air of thrift. If, upon taking note of 
these points you form a favorable opinion, you may conclude that 
it is a safe section in which to invest and to nudvc your future 
home. 

In the San Joaquin valley are to be found vineyards of from five 
to one thousand acres, in the highest state of cultivation, without 
a weed in sight and every row of vines in perfect alignment and 
every plant of uniform size, giving one the impression that it is an 
immense garden instead of fruit fields maintained for profit. 
Whether of large or small acreage you will invariably find the 
vineyards and orchards equally well taken care of in every 
particular. 

Some who read this article may have had their attention called 
to some particular instance of phenomenal yield that has been 
published through the newspapers. Such articles are oftentimes 
misleading. The writer of this article can quote like instances 
that would hardly be credited, yet which, notwithstanding they 
would be absolutely true, would be entirely misleading. 

This article has not been Avritten for the pui'pose of booming 
any location or section of California, nor to advertise any tract 
of land. On the contrary, it has been written for the sole purpose 
of giving reliable and trustworthy information to intending set- 
tlers, those who from choice may desire to engage in the raisin 
industry— the same advice that the writer would desire should he 
be looking up the advantages of a place with which he is not 



THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA. 99 

familiar. It needs no exa^'geralion of facts to sing the praises of 
the productiveness of California's soil. 

In conclusion, the writer will take the liberty of quotino; from 
the Pacific Rural Press, published in the city of San Francisco, 
an answer to several questions propounded to the editor by one 
who signs himself "^linneapolis Skeptic": 

"If the distant reader gets the idea that he, without any knowl- 
edge or experience, and perhaps wi-thout intending to do anything 
himself but to sit in the shade, can get out of the place every year 
as much as the outfit costs him, he had better bear the ills he has. 
If he comes, however, intending to apply ordinary business sense 
and energy, and expecting to receive a good return for his invest- 
ment and labor, he is pretty sure to realize it— unless he is handi- 
capped by a mistake in the beginning, such as may be made in 
buying poor land or planting the wrong fruit, or something of 
that kind. If Eastern people will read advertising matter like 
business men, and not stick their fingers in the fire like children 
and then cry at the sight of the flame, they will make better 
Californians and learn to appreciate the many advantages that 
the Creator has placed within the reach of those who live in the 
State of California." 



THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA. 



By GEORGE C. ROEDING. 



Xo fruit has appealed more to the horticulturist than the fig. It 
is easy of culture, adapting itself to a variety of soils, and the 
expense of harvesting is very light as compared with many other 
fruits. Naturally the great desire of growers of figs is to produce 
a fruit equal in flavor to the far-famed Smyrna variety from Asia 
Minor. 

In the year 1880 the San Francisco Bulletin Company, backed 
by the late Senator Leland Stanford, made the first importation 
of fig cuttings from Asia Minor, and a few years later another 
shipment was made. These trees were distributed to subscribers 
of the Bulletin throughout the State. When the trees were old 
enough to bear, the fruit, after attaining the size of a marble, 
shriveled and dropped. Those who planted the trees concluded 
that they had been duped. ]\Iany of the trees were dug up and 
destroyed in consequence, although isolated specimens are still 
to be found, the largest number being on the Vina Ranch, belong- 
ing to the Stanford Estate. These trees were planted in out-of- 
the-way places and have received little or no care. The wily 



100 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Smyrnaites evidently did all they could to ])revent cuttings of the 
genuine commercial variety being exported, for the trees growing 
at Vina are badlj- mixed, consisting of a number of varieties. 
There are a few of the genuine commercial figs gi-owing there, 
but they are the exception rather than the rule. 

The next variety to attract attention was the White Adriatic, a 
Dalmatian sort, and it Avas extensively planted from 1884 to 1800. 
When the trees came into bearing and the fruit Avas found to be 
inferior to the imported figs, no matter how processed, growers 
concluded that Smyrna figs could not be grown here, conditions 
apparently not being favorable for their successful culture. 
Nevertheless, quite an extensive business was built up in Adriatic 
figs. The shipments are in the neighborhood of 2,500 tons annu- 
ally. The jobbing trade in the Eastern States regarded California 
figs as a joke, and it was the consensus of opinion that California 
would never succeed in placing on the market a fig equal in fiavor 
to the imported. 

In the year 1885 F. Roeding, of the Fancher Creek Nurseries 
of Fresno, having come to the conclusion that none of the figs 
grown in California were of the same variety as the fig of com- 
merce, decided to send his foreman to Smyrna to make a personal 
investigation and to secure cuttings of the very best varieties. 
After remaining a year in the nursery the first orchard, consist- 
ing of twenty acres, was planted in 1887 from these cuttings. In 
addition to this, there were planted about forty caprifig trees. 

The tree producing the caprifigs is necessary for the production 
of the Smyrna fig. Without caprifigs Smyrna figs can not be 
produced. It is in this one respect that the Smyrna type of figs 
differs from all others; for unless the female flowers of this fig 
are fertilized by the pollen of the caprifigs, the fruit shrivels and 
drops when one-third grown. In other varieties of fruits in which 
the flowei's are exposed any ordinary insect can convey the pollen 
from the male to the female; but in the fig, all the flowers are 
inclosed, and it is only through the agency of a little Avasp-like 
insect which makes its home in the caprifig that the pollination of 
the flowers of the edible fig can take place. The caprifig trees 
produce a succession of crops during the season, ancl for every 
crop of figs there is a new generation of insects. 

The first caprifigs make their appearance in IMarch, as soon as 
the new growth starts on the trees. These figs are in the recep- 
tive stage in the latter part of April. The female wasp, which is 
winged, enters this fig at this time and deposits her eggs in the 
gall flower, as it is called, and then perishes in the fig to which it 
has entrusted its offspring. This fig reaches maturity in the early 
part of June, and at this time the male, or staminate, blossoms are 
mature and covered with pollen. There are both male and female 
wasps, each doing its share in carrying on the work to a success- 
ful completion. The male wasp issues first from the galls, crawls 
(it is wingless) around in the fig, locates the galls in which the 
females lie, cuts into them with its powerful mandibles, and 



THE FIG IN CALIP^ORNIA. 



101 



impregnates the female. The female enlarges the openmg made 
by the male, craAvls out of the gall, and then passes through the 
orifice of the caprifig, which is then large enough to admit of an 
easy exit. In leaving the fig its body and wings become covered 
with pollen from the male flowers, which occupy a zone in the 
fruit immediately surrounding this opening. This is one of the 
most interesting phases in connection with the growing of Smyrna 
figs. The caprifigs at this time are plucked from the trees, 
threaded on reeds or raffia fiber, and suspended in the Smyrna fig 
trees. The female flowers of the Smyrna fig are in the receptive 
stage at this time, and the little wasp forces its way through the 
almost closed orifice of the fig, in many cases breaking off its 




PACKING FIGS. 



wings in its eagerness to make an entrance. It crawls around 
in the fig, passing over the numerous female flowers, trying to find 
a place to deposit its eggs. The flowers are so constructed that 
it can not do so. The insect, although prevented from carrying 
out its object, proves a benefit to mankind, for every fig entered 
matures into a luscious fruit, with fertile seeds. A few days after 
an insect has entered, the fig commences to develop and expand, 
assuming a bright, healthy and vigorous appearance, while the figs 
which the insect has not penetrated have a sickly, yellowish-green 
color, and soon drop to the ground. The insect, after performing 
its function, leaves the fig and dies. 

The question now arises as to the manner in which the insect 
perpetuates its species. All of the caprifigs are not picked from 



102 CALIFORXIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

the wild or male trees, as they are often designated. A few of 
the late maturing ones of this crop are allowed to remain, and 
from these the female insect issues and passes into the new crop 
of figs appearing on the same tree. Here it deposits its eggs in 
the gall flowers, and thus provides for a new generation of wasps. 
When this crop is mature, which usually takes six weeks, another 
crop of figs appears on the wild fig trees, which the insect enters. 
The final crop, which makes its appearance the latter part of 
September, remains on the trees all the winter, the insect remain- 
ing in this crop in the larva form until the spring cro]). already 
referred to, conunences to develoj). This, then, briefly describes 
the life history of this wonderful little insect, around Avhich the 
success of a great and important industry centers. 

The only season of the year in which the caprifigs are dis- 
tributed in the Smyrna fig trees is in the month of June. Two 
or three distributions are made at this time, at a cost, even in an 
old orchard of ten to fourteen years, not exceeding $1 per acre. 
From six to ten figs are placed in a tree at each distribution of 
the caprifigs, the number varying according to the size of the tree. 
Each eaprifig contains from three hundred to one thousand 
insects. • 

The Smyrna figs commence to ripen from the middle to the 
latter part of August, and continue until October 1st. The fact 
that these figs do not all mature at the same time is a very important 
feature and one which will appeal to every fruit-growei-. It 
means that a very large crop of fruit can be harvested with a 
small force of men, or even children, at a minimum ex])ense. 
These figs must not be picked from the trees, but allowed to drop 
to the ground of their own accord. This they will not do until 
they have shriveled and lost their form. Occasionalh^ a fig will 
be seen which does not drop readily. A slight jar to the tree, or 
tapping the fig with a light bamboo pole, will cause it to fall. The 
figs are gathered in small buckets, and later are taken to the dry- 
ing ground in picking-boxes. Before placing the figs on the trays 
they are innnei'sed for half a minute in a boiling hot l)i'ine contain- 
ing about three ounces of salt to the gallon of Avalcr. After a few 
days' exposure to the sun they are taken to a room sealed tight 
with tongue-and-grooved lumber, and placed in a large pile. 
Here they remain for ten days, being turned occasionally. This 
sweating, as it is termed, equalizes the amount of moisture in 
the fruit; overdried figs absorl)ing moisture from those which are 
too Avet, and vice versn. Before the figs are taken to the packing- 
house they are washed in a weak cold l)rine: the overdried figs, 
called floaters, iwr i-cmoved as they float to the top, and the others 
are given a good rubbing between the hands. This removes the 
dirt which may have gathered on them in the course of drying. 
After exposure to the sun for a half-day, to allow the superfluous 
moisture to evaporate, they are dumped into boxes and hauled to 
the packing-house. 

The packing is done by women and girls. Every effort is made 



THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA. 103 

to have the fruit in tlie best of eondition and perfectly clean. 
Just prior to beino- taken to the packing-table the figs are given 
a steam bath. This cleanses them thoroughly and heats the fruit 
through, and should any insect have laid its egg in the fruit dur- 
ing the course of drying, the germ is destroyed. No such care is 
exercised by either the growers or packers in Smyrna, and in 
consequence the imported figs are sometimes not only wormy, but 
dirty as well, due to the crude manner of handling. The figs are 
packed in pound and half-pound paper cartons, which are in turn 
packed in wooden boxes holding ten pounds each. So nuich for 
our method. Contrast it with the method followed in Smyrna. 

There the figs are dried on rushes, on an open place 
The Fig in in the orchard where a few trees have died. When 
Smyrna. sufficiently dried the fruit is dumped on the ground 

in any convenient old shed and allowed to remain 
until enough has accumulated, when it is gathered in horsehair 
sacks holding aliout two hundred pounds each. These sacks are 
very strong and quite expensive, and are very desirable for the 
transportation of figs, for they have no lint like burlap sacks. 
These figs are carried on the backs of camels to the nearest rail- 
road station, a camel-load being two such sacks. A camel train 
usually consists of from six to ten camels. It is quite a novel 
sight to see these ungainly creatures shambling along with their 
big loads, the caravaneer riding in the lead on a small donkey, 
perched high on a peculiarly elevated and clumsy saddle. 
During the season the Ottoman railway, which traverses the 
entire fig district, sends trains daily from the most important 
points in the Meander valley, and it is no uncommon occurrence 
to have from 1,500 to 2,000 tons of figs delivered in Smyrna in a 
single day. All of the fig-packing is carried on in Smyrna, a city 
of 400,000 inhabitants and located on the coast about forty miles 
from the fig districts. The figs, on reaching Smyrna, are again 
conveyed on the backs of camels to the fig bazaar, or to the 
packing-houses if they have been sold to any particular packer. 
They are dumped on the floor in immense masses about three feet 
deep. Before packing the figs are sorted into sizes and suppled 
by women and girls, who receive fifteen to twenty cents a day. 
The packing is done entirely by men. Neither men nor women 
are any too clean about their person. A Smyrnaite never eats 
packed figs. You ask him why, and a shrug of the shoulders is 
your answer. The only time water touches the figs is when the 
packers moisten their fingers in the sea water, which is hauled in 
hogsheads from the quay, into which all the sewers of Smyrna 
empty. 

It is a well-known fact that all imported figs are wormy. Most 
of the worms leave them while they are in transit, and it is rare 
that the consumer sees any of the worms in the figs he is eating. 
It is generally supposed by the packers of Smyrna that this worm 
is a natural product of the fig, resulting from an egg laid by the 
fig wasp. However, this is entirely incorrect, for the worm 



104 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

comes from an insect laying its eggs in the fruit during the 
process of drying. 

To pi'oduee a good article is always a source of satis- 
Commep- faction, l)ut there must l)e another incentive. The 
eial Value industry nnist ])e profitable. No business can succeed 
of Figs. ,),. make any advance unless it pays. The question 

arises. Will fig-growing in California pay? True, we 
must compete with the cheap labor of Europe, but this has been 
the fact in other branches of fruit-growing. We are competing 
in many branches, and our fruit sells in competition with the best 
that is produced in the Old World. Although our wages are much 
higher it must be remembered that our help is more efficient, and 
this, combined with the advanced methods of handling, places us 
in a position to compete in figs as well as in other fruit. 

It has been demonstrated that Adriatic figs at three cents a 
pound are more profitable than raisins at five cents. Smyrna figs 
can be raised fully as cheap as Adriatic figs, the only additional 
expense being caprification ; but as this does not cost over two 
cents a tree at the very outside, it is a matter not worthy of con- 
sideration. It is safe to assume that Smyrna figs, even when i)ro- 
duced in large quantities, will never bring less than three cents 
per pound, and for many years to come five cents per pound will 
be a more likely average. No class of dried fruit outside of the 
fig possesses so many dietary qualities, and with a good article on 
the market, there is an unlimited field for expansion. With the 
figs which W'Cre being marketed from this State prior to the suc- 
cessful establishment of the Smyrna fig industry there was no 
hope for the future. It is now conceded that this trou])le Avas due 
to our not having the right variety and to no other cause. It does 
not indicate, because a fig is of the Smyrna type, that it neces- 
sarily is the variety for drying, any more than that one of our 
June peaches is a good drying or canning peach. Thus far there 
has only been one variety of any value for drying purposes, and 
this has been designated as the "Calimyrna." This is the identi- 
cal variet,y grown in Smyrna under the name of "Lop Injir." 
which is the only fig used for export. The name "Calimyrna" 
is copyrighted, and is a contraction of the two words "Cali- 
fornia" and "Smyrna." The name Calimyrna has already 
made its impression on llie trade, and is recognized as the only 
tig grown in California woi'thy of being classed as a true com- 
mercial product. 

There are thousands of acres of land in California, 
in the interior valleys, in which this fig can be grown 
CaHfap"n1a" successfully and i)rofitab]y. True, the fig will groAv 
any place in the State where the tempei-ature does 
not go below eighteen degrees Fahrenheit. As a com- 
mercial proposition it must have a dry, warm climate during the 
summer months, and it will therefore always find its most con- 
genial location in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, and 
in the foothills where such conditions exist. The trees will grow 



THE FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA. 105 

on either wet or dry soils, but a deep, Avarm soil with ^ood drain- 
age will always produce the best fruit. No orchard can be raised 
with so small an expense as a fig. Good cultivation is of course 
important, but outside of this and irrigation, the other expenses 
are very light. Pruning is a small item; no spraying is necessary, 
for the trees are never subject to attack by insect pests. 

The importation of figs into the United States amounts to over 
$800,000 annually. This alone demonstrates that there is an open- 
ing for the development of this industry. There is no fruit which 
can be put to such a variety of uses as the fig, and the demand for 
this fruit canned or preserved has never been satisfied, even with 
the ordinary figs. 



THE FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA. 



By W. II. mills, 

Chief of the Department of Forestry, 



The following sketch of the forests of California is intended as 
an introduction to the classified forest exhibit of California made 
in the Department of Forestry. 

At best, a forestry exhibit is an exhibition of specimens of 
wood. Paramount consideration may be given to the botanical or 
scientific aspect of the forests of a country, or the commercial 
significance of these forests may be illustrated. But whatever the 
paramount motive for the exhibition may be, no exhibit which 
would adequately' represent the forested condition of a country 
can be made in the space allotted to such exhibits in expositions. 

A forest covering a hundred thousand acres of land might con- 
tain a variety of tree growth as great as one containing as many 
millions of acres. The same commercial woods might be found in 
a very limited forest area as in one covering millions of acres. 

The California Forestry Exhibit is distinctively commercial in 
its motive and aspect. The scientific or botanical exhibit might 
have been combined with this, but such an exhibit Avould have 
required a very large space for its display and man}'- years for its 
collection. That no complete scientific exhibit of the forests of 
any country has ever been made is a justifiable assertion. Ger- 
many, where the science of forestry has attained its ripest stage, 
notwithstanding the appearance of that empire in all the great 
world's expositions, has not even attempted a botanical or scien- 
tific expression of its forests, nor disclosed to the world the 
advanced policy which has given to that empire thirty-five 
millions of forested land with all the attendant meteorological 
and climatic benefits. 

NotAvithstanding the difficulties which ciiii rcndilv be antici- 



106 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



pated. it was the original intention of California to make the 
World's Fair at St. Louis an oceasion for a comprehensive exhi- 
bition of the forests of California, presenting their botanical 
aspects, the topographical expression of the forest floors, the rain- 
fall, and the relation of the forested flanks of the mountains of 
the State to the level agricultural areas which lie at their feet. 
The desire to accomplish this result was due to the unsurpassed 
forest wealth of California, including the wide range of varying 
botanical specimens, the vast magnitude of its connnercial values, 
and the distinction which the forests of California enjoy by the 
possession of species unknown to other countries, which, coupled 
with the scenic grandeur of the densely wooded slopes, densely 




I'latk Xt). 1 — Heavy fokksteu declivitv. 
Showing larjjc .sirowth on stoep inclines of river canyons. 

forested canyons and park-like phiteaus, all combine to invest the 
forests of California with intense interest to the botanist and 
sylvaculturist. 

' Such an exhil)it, however, would have involved a larger expendi- 
ture of money than was avaihil)le for this purpose, and a larger 
exhibition space than could reasonal)ly be expected at the hands 
of the exposition authorities. The scientiflc aspect alone, to 
possess any value, must ])e accompanied by a complete exhibition 
of botanical specimens, and these would possess but little interest 
to the average spectator unaccompanied by a catalogue, which 
of itself would expand to the dimensions of a volume on the 
science of botany. 



THE FORESTS OP CALIFORNIA. 



107 



The exhibit has been collected and installed in accordance with 
the plan of taking the leading coniniercial species and presenting 
them fully. It was found impracticable to make a complete 
exhibition of all the tree growth of California possessing com- 
mercial value. To illustrate the impossibility of an adequate 
scientific exhibition, the facts relating to the pinus family may 
be adopted. 

The genus of forest trees known botanically as "pinus" com- 
prises eighty classified species ; these are distributed over the 
North Temperate zone in both hemispheres. Of the eighty classi- 
fied species only twenty are found in Eurasia, a geographical 
designation given to a region extending from the Atlantic Ocean 




Plate No. 2 — Middle altitudes of sierra Nevada mountains. 



to the Pacific across northern Europe and Asia, a distance of nine 
thousand miles east and w^est; while sixty of the eighty kno-\\Ti 
species are found in North America, extending over a region of 
only three thousand miles east and west. Of these sixty, twenty- 
five are found on the Pacific slope west of the Rocky mountains. 
Of these twenty-five, twenty abound in the forests of California. 
California, therefore, possesses as many species of the pinus 
family as all Europe and Asia combined. 

Of the secpioia, which may be said to be indigenous and peculiar 
to California, we have but two classified varieties— the gigantea 
and the s€))ipervir€us, or in common parlance, the "big trees" 
and the "redwood." Every commercial aspect of these two 
varieties of sequoia is fully presented in the forestry exhibit of 



108 CAIJFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

California. These include some beautiful and striking' cabinet 
forms which illustrate the use of the Avood in public and domestic 
architecture; also broad i)hiiiks. wliicli indicate the i)onderous 
growth of the trees. 

To understand the forests of the State of California, the topog- 
raphy of the State must be described. California is essentially a 
mountainous state. It comprises one hundred millions of acres 
of land, and of this about thirty millions are suitable for cultiva- 
tion ; this leaves about seventy millions of acres comprising the 
densely forested areas of the State, unirrigated deserts hereafter 
to be reclaimed, and the high peaks of the mountain ranges which 
rise above the timber line. Interspersed with the mountain land 
there are valleys of varying extent in the coast region of the 
State, and other valleys of more or less significance in the great 
Sierra Nevadas, which form the high east wall of the State of 
California, and constitute an insurmountable barrier to the 
climatic conditions of the North Temperate zone Avhich prevail 
from their summits to the Atlantic Ocean. 

California is distinguished from all other countries by the 
possession of two extensive valleys of fertile plains completely 
surrounded by mountains ; these are the valleys of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin rivers. They lie in the very heart of the State, 
and have a length north and south of six hundred and fifty miles, 
with an average width east and west of approximately thirty-five 
miles. These statements are intended merely to cover the average 
width, and not to express the greatest or least diameter of the 
ellipse. The two valleys comprise approximately fifteen millions 
of acres of land, being fifty per cent of the arable area of the 
State, and possessing at least seventy per cent of its fertility and 
productive capacity. 

From the mouth of the great canyon of the Sacramento valley 
on the north to the summit of Tehachapi on the south, a distance 
of six hundred and fifty miles, there is a continuous fertile plain, 
sometimes reaching a width which reduces the mountain ranges 
on either hand to the appearance of lowlying blue ridges rising 
above the horizon. 

To the eastward of this immense plain, the western escarpment 
of the Sierra Nevada exposes one continuous succession of 
splendid forests. Passing Tehachapi to the southw^ard, these 
forests disappear; passing Redding, at the mouth of the Sacra- 
mento canyon on the north, the forests close in from the Sierra 
Nevada and Coast Range systems, and the full breadth of the 
State is practically a forested country. 

Around the great fertile basin comprising the interior valley of 
California already described, there is a complete enclosure of 
mountains. The Coast Range to the west is wooded on its Avestern 
slopi^ and the Sierra Nevadas on the east are also wooded on their 
western slope and, in some measure, bej^ond the summits to the 
eastward. 

The area covered by the density of tree growth worthy of the 



THE FORESTS OP CAL1PX)RNIA. 



109 



designation of "forests" comprises twent^^-two millions of acres. 
Of these, approximately eight millions of acres belong to the 
Coast Range system and consist chiefly of redwood, while the 
main forest of the State, covering the western flank of the Sierra 
Nevadas, comprises sixteen millions of acres and consists chiefly 
of pine and fir. With the exception of small portions of the red- 
wood districts, there are no "pure forests" in California. 

The most valuable commercial w^ood of the State is the sugar 
pine. The trees of this species attain a diameter of twelve feet 
and more and are not infrequently three hundred feet high. The 
wood is white, with fine, strong grain capable of receiving a high 
finish, is entirely devoid of resinous substances, and is in all 




Plate No. 3 — Dexsely forested akea coveiu.nu aiouataix plateau. 



respects the most valuable pine timber known. Its habitat is the 
middle altitudes of the Sierra Nevadas. It is seldom found below 
thirty-five hundred feet above sea level, and very seldom above 
an altitude of six thousand feet. There are no pure forests of 
sugar pine. 

Some portions of this forested area are richer in this valuable 
wood than other portions, but the species is always accompanied 
by other species, and the twenty species of pine already mentioned 
comprise about seventy-five per cent of the forest trees in the 
State. 

Of the pines, four species have prominence, viz : 

1. Sugar Pine {Pinus lamhertmna) . 

2. Silver Pine (Piiuis monticola). 



110 



CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



3. Velknv Pine, now called White Pine {Finns poiidcrosa). 

4. Black Pine {Funis jcff'nyi). 

A consei'vative approximation of the quantity of merchantable 
lumber standing in the forests of California reaches the vast total 
of four hundred and forty billion feet. Since the forests of Call-, 
fornia are found in the mountainous districts of the State, the 
topography of the floors of these forests possesses interest. 
Topography is the controlling factor in the economic production 
of lumber from California forests. These forested lands are 
divided into h3'drographie districts. In the commercial aspect 
of the subject, the catchment area of a system makes all the 
forests grown upon it tributary to the canyon line which consti- 




Plate No. 



-FOISEST OF FIR l.N IlKill .VLTITUDE. 



tutes the centi-al drainage of that hydrographic area. In the 
parlance of the lumbermen, the lands in a single drainage area 
can usually be "worked together"; which means that the instru- 
mentalities of bringing the logs to the mill and the lumber to 
trunk lines can be brought downward to the central line of drain- 
age, and the construction and maintenance of these instrumental- 
ities is very costly. The profit of lumbering is, therefore, largely 
dependent upon the magnitude of the enterprise relating to these 
hydrographic districts. 

At least seventy-five per cent of the forest floors of California 
are incline planes, and of these planes, at least sixty per cent have 
a declivity of twenty degrees. This is conveniently illustrated by 
cut No. 1, which is from a photograph of a heavy forested 



THE FORESTS OP CALIFORNIA. 



Ill 



deolivity illustrating' the growth of trees on steep iuelines of 
river canyons. 

Cut No. 2 is an illustration of a forested canyon, showing the 
large tree growth at the foot of a declivity in the very trough of 
the canyon, with the wooded hills in the distance. 

The space allotted to this article in this publication will not 
admit of any extended discussion as to the effects of forests upon 
tlie climate of California or the influence denudation would have 
upon the meteorological conditions of the State; but it will be 
accepted as a pardonable digression from the plan of this article 
to call attention to the very obvious fact that since seventy-five 
per cent of the forest areas of California are found upon inclines 




Plate No. 5 — The blexdixg zone betweex summer asd pekpetual wixtek. 

of from fifteen to thirty degrees, the absence of the forests will 
cause the soil upon these slopes to disappear. The heavy rainfall 
of the region Avill erode these declivities and very soon lay the 
underlying bedrock bare. The soil floor of the forest having dis- 
appeared, its reservoir capacity will be extinguished and the 
innnediate delivery of the precipitation into the channels of the 
central drainage of these areas will vastly augment the torrential 
character of the streams and ultimately destroy the navigability 
of the principal water highways of the State. Greatly increased 
maximum flood stages during the rainy season would ensue and 
unnavigable low water in the river channels for a period of six 
months in each year would follow. 



112 



CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODI'CTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



Cut No. 3 illustrates a densely forested area covering a moun- 
tain plateau. The forests shoAvn in the illustration will produce 
fifty or sixty thousand feet of merchantable lumber to the acre. 

Rising- above six thousand feet, there is a finely forested region, 
graphically illustrated by cut No. 4. 

Beyond this and upAvard toward the snowy summits of the 
great range, treeless fields are encountered having a picket line 
of stunted fir and spruce. This is the frontier of vegetation; the 
blending zone between the prevailing sunnner of the lower alti- 
tudes and the perpetual winter of the extreme summits. Cut 
No. 5 is an adequate illustration of this interesting region. 




I'l.ATK No. ()- (Juill r (11 l.AUCt; WIIITK TIAKS ItKTWKK.N OPEN" t.LAl)KS. 

The mountain plateaus may be divided into two classes— the 
level and the even. The designation "level" may be accepted for 
what that term means; the "even" designates an undulating 
floor with gradual and easily accessible slopes. These mountain 
plateaus are frequently interspersed with open glades, treeless 
because of excessive moisture. Cut No. 6 illustrates a group of 
large white pines between these open glades. The trees in the 
original, within the field of the camera, have an average diameter 
of five feet and an average height of two hundred feet. 

The attention of the reader is respectfully called to the classi- 
fied exhibit of California in the Forestrv Division. 



THE LUMBER INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 113 

THE LUMBER INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



By E. J. HOLT. 



Those who have gathered statistics (T. B. Walker of Minnesota, 
and others) upon the timber supply of the United States agree 
upon the following (not reassuring) facts : 

In the whole country they find about 1,003,000,000,000 feet 
(board measure— one inch thick and twelve inches square) of 
visible supply now standing. Of this total about 625,000,000,000 
feet (over 61 per cent) is in the three Pacific Slope states, viz., 
Washington, Oregon and California. Of these three, Oregon has 
225,000,000,000 feet (36 per cent), California and Washington 
each 200,000,000,000 feet (32 per cent). 

The census of 1900 shows that the timber cut of that year was 
26,000,000,000 feet, or .026 of the visible standing. Beyond this 
the supply was further depleted by some 3,000,000,000 feet cut 
into shingles, railroad ties, piles and other similar round, hewn 
and split products, and the process of elimination is increasing in 
an alarming degree. At this rate, were it possible to fit the prod- 
uct to the needs of the market, thirty -five years would see the end 
of our United States supply. 

However, there is a saving clause so far as the California forests 
are concerned, inasmuch as the greater supply is of and the greater 
demand is for "common" grades for rough and framing work, 
for which, when the time comes, .steel will be more largely substi- 
tuted; while California's high-grade finishing woods will supply 
the needs for a longer period by far than thirty-five years. 

California's asset in her timbered lands is, therefore, becoming 
appreciated not only because of its present value, but more par- 
ticularly as it is the last and at the same time to be the most 
valuable forest on earth. 

This pertinent fact demonstrates that as the timber tracts of the 
United States east of the Rocky mountains are rapidly becoming 
exhausted, especially so far as refers to woods in quantity and of 
quality with which to supply the domestic trade with material for 
interior and exterior finishing,- shop work, doors and sash, etc., 
in fact, for all other purposes than common framing, the market 
must soon be largely supplied from this coast, and that California 
will, as time goes on, be called upon more and more for its wood 
for these and many other purposes. 

The particular uses mentioned require "clear" or "select" 
qualities of wood susceptible of easy working, slight shrinking 
and swelling, and which will take and hold a finished sur- 
face, and of all Pacific Coast woods, the redwood, sugar pine and 
white pine of California are pre-eminently adapted to fulfill these 
requirements. 



114 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

California woods also offer a source of supply sufficient for the 
probable needs of the next three generations, inasmuch as red- 
wood trees produce from 40 to 75 per cent of "clear" and sugar 
pine and white pine from 20 to 30 per cent, as against the 3 to 5 
per cent of the woods of the Middle "West. 

California produces a variety of commercial woods, the most 
used being redwood, Avhite pine, sugar pine, fir, spruce, cedar, 
"bull" pine, cottonwood, laurel, and eucalyptus, and in propor- 
tionate quantities about in the order named, redwood being pro- 
duced in the largest quantity of any, while the four last named 
cut but little commercial figure. 

{Sequoia scmpervirens) is indigenous to this State; 
Redwood it covers a tract on the northwestern coast of Cali- 
fornia beginning at the northern line (there being 
not over 2,000 acres over the line in Oregon), and occupies a con- 
tinuous and fog-fed district from the seacoast eastward to the 
crest of the Coast Range of mountains about 240 miles long (north 
and south) and from 10 to 20 miles wide. 

In this district were originally about 1,200,000 acres of red- 
wood timbered lands, comprising practically the world's total 
supply of this most magnificent wood, having from sixty to 
seventy billion feet of superb merchantable timber, besides from 
10 to 20 per cent more in volume of by-products— split ties and 
posts, wood, some fir and tan bark. 

Some thirty mill plants have since 1860 grown up and grown 
rich in this district, and they now own a little less than one half 
of the timbered acreage. These mills have removed probably not 
more than 15 per cent of the original standing, having during 
the forty-three years averaged 200,000,000 feet per annum, while 
the cut of 1903 from this district (comprising the counties of 
Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Sononux) was slightly over 
300,000,000 feet. The present mill capacity is about 450,000,000 
feet, based on the theoretical ability to run continuously, which, 
however, is an overestimate of practicable results. 

The further existing supply of this wood is found only in the 
three small counties lying next south of San Francisco along the 
coast. This supply is very limited, the acreage being small and 
the timber of low grade, while the present rate of production, 
even though not now supplying the full demand of these counties, 
will have exhausted the total supply within the next decade. 

In the middle eastern part of the State stand in scattered 
groves the total remaining samples of the Sequoia gigantea, the 
monarchs of the world's forests. They too are redwood {Sequoia), 
but of a very different character, the product being brittle and 
soft and therefore not only difficult to handle but also mars so 
easily as to place it at a disadvantage in the mai-kets where it 
meets the semper vire us. The ncai-by rail markets will consume 
the product at good paying prices. 

A wise government should, however, buy and reserve this 
melancholy remnant of the most wonderful tree product of the 



116 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Avorklj not alone for the sentimental value, but also for the very 
praeti(?al and absolutely essential purpose of conserving the 
supply of water for the irrigation of the enormous and wonder- 
fully fertile San Joaquin valley, which with water could support 
a population of five million souls. 

Besides these standing sequoias there are no others on earth 
except a few stunted trees in Japan. A curious fact and food 
for speculation is the presence of fossil remains of sequoia in 
Nevada, indicating, as do other facts, that we are witnessing the 
dying gasps of the last few hoary giants of an expiring species, 
probably the grandest flora of creation. Scientific research proves 
the age of many of these trees to be nine hundred or more years, 
while it is an accepted probability that some of them were 
glorifying their Creator long before the beginning of the 
Christian era. 

From the foregoing it Avill be clear that the redwood of com- 
merce, from the broader standpoint, will all come from the district 
on the northwest coast of California. 

The topography of this district is generally that of a slope 
westerly from the crest of the Coast Range of mountains, which 
slope is serrated by lateral ridges separated by streams and rivers 
fed annually by from 50 to 80 inches of rain. The water shipping 
point in Del Norte county is an open roadstead; while for the 
Avhole of Humboldt county, the great bay of the same name 
affords a number of landings. 

Mendocino comity has a rock-bound coast without bays or har- 
bors, and cargoes are loaded over suspended wire chutes or 
trolleys, the outer end of the trolley wires being anchored in the 
ocean. The wire crosses the deck of the moored steamer, the 
slack being taken up to ship's gaff, thus making a tight wire, up 
and down which a traveling car is sent. 

Del Norte and Humboldt have no railroad connections with the 
markets, and but a very small part of the output of the other 
counties is now so handled, 95 per cent of the total being handled 
by water. 

Logging is mainly done by steam, fixed engines (bull donkeys), 
operating as much as one and a half miles of steel wire, dragging 
a train of logs containing from 30,000 to 50,000 feet to either a 
river bank or more often to a logging railroad, which in turn 
delivers the logs to the mill. Logs are cut in lengths of from 12 to 
20 feet and from 16 inches diameter up to capacity of mill. 

Sawing is done mainly with heavy band-saw mills, which have 
lately displaced most of the old double and triple circulars. 

Machinery is necessarily^ very heavy, as butt logs frequently 
sink, while the average weight of fresh-sa"WTi lumber is nearly 
four pounds per board foot. Commercial trees have diameters at 
the stump ranging from 20 inches to 17 feet, and averaging about 
four feet in the northern part of the district, and one foot less in 
the southern part. 

]\rill companies generally own tlicii- lands, at costs varying from 



THE LUMBER INDTTSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



117 



60 cents to $1.50 per thousand feet on the stump. A mill buying 
stumpage for immediate cutting would be called upon to pay from 
$1.35 to $2.50 per thousand feet on the stump, according to avail- 
ability, amount per acre, quality, etc. Humboldt and Del Norte 
timbered lands carry from 50,000 to 150,000 feet per acre, aver- 
aging about 75,000 feet, while Mendocino county lands carry 
from 35,000 to 100,000 feet per acre, averaging from 50,000 to 
60,000 feet. Quality of product is softest in the northern part of 
the district, more acid appearing with consequent increasing 
hardness and weight the farther south the growth. 

Markets for redwood are world wide. Its fitness for a great 
variety of uses is extraordinary. Its fire-resisting qualities are 




SAWING THE REDWOOD LOGS. 



unique, owing to presence of acid and absence of pitch or resin. 
"When green it is difficult to burn it at all, and when dry it is not 
easy to ignite and is easily extinguished. The Fire Marshal of 
San Francisco is on record in writing, authorizing its use in the 
building of "fire walls" above brick buildings. When the 
Baldwin Hotel (six stories of brick and wood) burned in San 
Francisco some years ago, two redAvood water tanks on top of the 
only standing brick wall were found to be intact, being hardly 
charred, and were still water-tight. It endures the action of both 
weather and soil to a remarkable degree, the writer having in his 
office a shingle in good condition which Avas taken from a roof in 
Fort Humboldt after forty-one years of service. Experience 
proves its efficient life under ground to be twelve years, as against 



118 



CALIFORXIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



fir, four years, and oak, six years. Its acid also malces it distaste- 
ful to insect pests, and eft'eetually prevents their ravages, which 
are so disastrous to most other woods. ^Marine pests will attack 
it ultimately, but only to a limited degree and after a long time. 
Costs of product delivered in San Francisco average about .$13 
per thousand feet, while the present selling price averages 
approximately $18 per thousand feet. 

Quoting two authorities: "Such, then, are some of the quali- 
ties and many of the uses to which redwood is pre-eminently 
adapted ; and when its virtues have been properly tested, it has 
never yet been supplanted by any other wood in the lines for 
which its peculiar virtues recommend it. The constantly increas- 




A DOOMED iOUKST GIAXT. 



ing demand in countries where introduced speaks volumes in its 
praise. It is certainly very difficult to find anj^ constructive wood 
in the whole realm of building material that for beauty and 
grandeur of growth, variety of grain, structure or color, or the 
purposes for which it can be used, will siu-pass the Sequoia 
semper virens.^^ 

"It is a beautiful IuihIxt, wide and clcai-. It has a quality as 
distinct as the territory in which it grows. While not a veritable 
salamander, it is closely related to the salamander tribe. The dis- 
trict bounded by the fire limits of San Francisco is smaller than 
that of any other city of its size in the country ; one reason being 
that the buildings are constructed largely of redwood and will 
not easily burn. * * * The fact that redwood swells, shrinks 



THE LUMBER INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



119 



or warps but slightly especially adapts it not only for shingles but 
for tanks, vats and patterns, while its rich color and susceptibility 
to high polish, especially of the curly-grained varieties and high 
bird's-eye burls, are bringing it into great demand for cabinet 
work. * * * The stumps of trees felled half a century ago 
are mostly as sound today as they ever were. Rarely does a red- 
W'ood stump show signs of decay. * * * Will redwood hold 
paint ? Here again is culled out one of the many good qualities of 
this matchless Avood. Redwood will hold paint better than any 
other building wood, a fact that is demonstrated beyond a doubt 
wherever it is in use; and this, together with its non-warping 
and non-shrinking qualities, makes it peculiarly adapted for siding 
and outside finishing of buildings." 




A BOARD SIXTEEN FEET WIDE. 



In 1897 a book called the "Home of the Redwood" was pub- 
lished, setting forth by word and picture the wonders and details 
of the redwood industry. Unfortunately but few copies remain 
unsold, as Eastern lumbermen have of later years been busily 
showing their faith by their acts of investigation and investment. 
Sugar pine {Pinus lambertiana) and White pine 
Pine. {Pinus ponderosa) have their habitat in the high 
Sierra, near the snow line. These woods grow mixed 
And are friendly neighbors with the "bull" pine {Pinus Jeffrey i) 
and a cedar, which latter two, however, are of scanty supply, 
coarse growth, and therefore used for rough work locally, not 
being qualified to meet other woods in common markets. 

The lowest altitude in which these woods best thrive is about 



120 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

3,000 feet, while the highest is about 7,000 feet, the best growth 
occurring at an elevation of from 4,000 to 4,500 feet. They are 
evergreen; their needles dropping as new ones grow throughout 
the year. They thrive best in the red mountain soil, which is a 
mixture of clay and bedrock, substrata of the mountains being 
slate and granite. 

The average diameter of saw-timl)er is about 3 feet, though 
trees down to 14 inches in diameter are cut for sawlogs. The 
larger specimens attain a diameter of from 8 to 12 feet, with a 
height of from 180 to 250 feet. The average distance from ground 
to limbs is 60 feet, though frequently 90-foot bodies are found. 
These woods also grow mixed with redwood on the coast, but they 
are of hybrid qualitj^ and infrequent. 

The natural habitat is like that of redwood, its northern 
extreme in southern Oregon, but extends southeasterly to the 
desert section of the southern part of the State, not far south of 
Yosemite valley. It also grows to some extent in Nevada and in 
Arizona ; but in these latter districts the growth is sparse, the body 
short, and the quality of much lower grade than that of Califor- 
nia. The best growth is in the tier of counties in the northern 
central part of the State having a westerly Avatershed, and is 
practically continuous southeasterly. 

The Southern Pacific Railroad and its easterly branches at 
Sisson, Chico, Red Bluff, Sacramento, Stockton, and along the 
east side of the upper part of the San Joaquin valle.y, receive 
and transport the total cut of these woods except such little as is 
used locally. In many cases private mill-o^vned roads connect 
mills with main railroad, and also in many cases box and door 
factories located at mills prepare the lower grades of the product 
for their ultimate uses, thus saving both cost in manufacture 
and in transportation. Logging is done partly by steam and 
partly with animals, as the logs average much smaller than red- 
wood, but still much larger than the pine of the Middle West. 

Costs of production vary, but probably average close to $12.50 
per thousand feet on board main-line car, while the selling prices 
I'ange from $10 for low-grade box material to $50 for No. 1. 

The sugar and white pine interests are in a flourishing condi- 
tion, due to the efforts put forth in the past three years by the 
principal manufacturers in introducing this lumber throughout 
the entire Eastern States, between the Rocky mountains and the 
Atlantic seaboard, from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico, and it 
has been demonstrated through the manufacturers of sash and 
doors and to the general user of white pine throughout this vast 
territory, that the California product holds equal merit with the 
old-time popular so-called cork pine of Michigan and the white 
pine of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. 

These woods are white, soft, durable, straight-grained, easy to 
work, slow to absorb dampness, take polish or paint, will and 
can be milled in match sizes Avithout splitting easily, though split- 



THE FISHES OF CALIFORNIA. 121 

ting clean if forced. They shrink less than most pines, which fact 
is essential in good flooring timber, but these woods are too soft 
for this purpose, yet are unsurpassed for finish, ceiling, doors and 
sash, patterns, trays, sinks, kitchen tables, cabinets, shelving, etc. 
Where reasonable strength, durability, ease in working by either 
hand or machinery, cleanliness and stability of form and surface 
are Avanted at a reasonable price, these woods have no peer. 

The Diamond Match Company has lately acquired large hold- 
ings in the counties of Butte, Plumas and Tehama and has com- 
pleted a 35-mile standard railroad to connect its tract with the 
main railroad at Chico. The company plans a total investment of 
over $3,000,000, a good part of which is already expended. The 
Scott & Van Arsdale Lumber Company has a similar plant in 
full operation in Shasta county, worth $3,000,000 or more. These 
plants are exceptions, however. 

In conclusion, it seems fit that this article should make a plea 
for forest preservation, conservation and renewal. Under present 
laws and competition, the methods of lumbering are wasteful in 
the extreme, it being a probable fact that approximately only 
fifty per cent of the actual standing timber is marketed, while the 
logged-over tracts are burned and totally neglected, to the utter 
extinction of the forest tree in that locality. Reforestry is 
unthought of and the young trees are treated as a nuisance. 



THE FISHES OF CALIFORNIA. 



By DAVID STARR JORDAN, 

President of Leland Stanford Junior University. 



The total number of fishes known to exist in the waters of 
California is 435. These may be grouped in regard to their dis- 
tribution, as follows: About 165 species may be referred to as 
cold-water fauna. These are species that live near the shore, and 
whose proper home is found north of Point Conception, or in the 
cold current which sweeps along our coast, and which renders its 
waters less warm than in corresponding regions on the Asiatic 
side. About 117 species belong to the semi-tropical fauna. This 
occurs to the south of Point Conception and beyond the reach of 
the cold currents of the north. Of course, these two categories are 
not sharply divided by Point Conception. INIany of the northern 
species are found south of this point, in deeper water, or among 
the rocks, some even of the northern species going far down into 
Mexico. On the other hand, many southern species find their 
way northward as far as San Francisco. 



122 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Of the 165 species that belong to the north of Point Conception 
Ave have two very distinct categories ; the one comprises the Arctic 
and sub-Arctic fishes like the halibut, the sturgeon, and the 
herring, and several varieties of the flounders. With these are a , 
great body of peculiarly California types, which are scarcely or 
not at all represented in other regions, and which evidently had 
their origin upon our coast. Among these, and most conspicuous, 
are the various species of surf fishes, all viviparous, all commonly 
and wrongly known as perch. Scarcely less abundant are the 
various species of rock fishes, red, green, and black in color, which 
go by the general name of rock cod. The presence of these two 
types, both viviparous, together with the peculiar coast type of 
salmon, is the most remarkable feature of the fish fauna of 
California. 

The species which belong south of Point Conception are in most 
cases closely allied to tropical species, and have evidently had their 
origin in migrations from the south. These are, as a rule, not dis- 
tinctly Californian, but belong to types which are widely diffused 
through the warm waters of the tropics. Their relations are with 
the West Indian forms, rather than with the other fishes of 
California. 

About one hundred species of deep-sea fishes have been obtained 
by the "Albatross" in the depths of the ocean off the continental 
slope of California. These creatures are as a rule very soft in 
body and almost black in color, and many of them covered with 
luminous spots, or lanterns, by which they can see their way in 
the darkness. They live in the open sea, at a depth of from two 
to five miles, and their soft bodies at this depth are rendered firm 
by the tremendous pressure of the surrounding waters. In their 
native haunts the light and heat of the sun scarcely penetrate, the 
darkness is almost absolute, and the temperatui'e of the water is at 
the point of freezing. The creatures living at these great depths 
are not, generally speaking, descended from the shore species of 
the same region. They constitute groups by themselves, and 
forms very similar are found in all parts of the ocean, from the 
poles to the equator. 

About forty-five species inhabit the fresh waters of California. 
These are about equally divided between the great basin of the 
Sacramento and the San Joa(iuin and the basin of the Colorado. 
Basides the species of trout, most of the fresh-water fishes come 
under the head of suckers and chubs. 

Of the whole number of fishes found, 133 of the 
Fishes for marine species are properly to be called food fishes, 
the Table, found more or less frequently in the markets, and 
being more or less fit for table use. The others, on 
account of small .size, ill favor or tastelessness of flesh, are not 
used for food; or else are used only when salted and dried by the 
Chinese, to whose soups and chowders nothing seems to come amiss. 
About twenty of the fresh-water fishes are also food fishes, but 
only seven or eight of these have much value as such. 



THE FISHES OF CALIFORNIA. 123 

The distribution of fishes, that is, the question of the extent of 
the area inhabited by any particular kind, depends on a number of 
different conditions, the most important of these being the tem- 
perature of the water. Most fishes are extremely sensitive to any 
change of heat or cold. Where, as is sometimes the case, the tem- 
perature of the water changes abruptly at a given point, the char- 
acter of the fishes will be found to change equally. A very little 
cold is often sufficient to benumb and paralyze a fish of the tropics. 
On the other hand, the fishes of cold regions can not endure any 
degree of heat to which they are not accustomed; and doubtless 
the fishes in the depths would be suffocated by the temperature 
of the surface water, even if their lives were not destroyed by the 
diminution of pressure. 

Another element almost equal in importance is that of depth. 
The great majority of marine fishes that we know well, or that we 
recognize as food fishes, are shore species, inhabiting depths of 
from one to fifteen fathoms. The great variety of oceanic life is 
found within this range, through which the light and heat of the 
sun readily penetrate. As we go lower we find that the shore 
fauna disappear. The greenish-colored shore fishes give place at 
from fifty to one hundred fathoms to other species, the prevailing 
color of which is red. The green or gray colors match the colors 
of the sand and kelp ; the red ones harmonize with the red sea- 
mosses among which the red fishes live. In still greater depths, 
where light and heat disappear, the prevailing hues are violet or 
black, the color of darkness. 

Of less importance, but still a determining quality for 
Cannibals very many fishes, is the character of the food to be 
of the Sea. obtained. Each species thrives best where those crea- 
tures on which it naturally feeds are most abundant. 
The herbivorous fishes live among the tide pools, where they can 
feed upon the small seaweed; the crab-eating fishes live among 
the rocks, and those which feed upon herring and silversides 
flourish best in the open sea. 

As regards their preference in the matter of surroundings, the 
fish of the coast may again be divided as follows: Of the pelagic 
species, about twenty visit the coast of California. These are 
fishes which swim freely in the open sea, living mostly near the 
surface, often moving for hundreds of miles and belonging to no 
one country more than another. Of species living about the rocks 
and feeding upon the small animals which abound in the seaAveeds 
there are fifty species, of which thirty belong to the group known 
as "rock cod." All of these are food fishes, although not of the 
best quality. One feature concerning them which is not generally 
know^n is that all of them are viviparous. Their eggs are laid in 
immense numbers, but they are hatched in the body of the female, 
so that the young are born at the length of one fourth to one sixth 
of an inch, and commonly rolled up in a coil, only the closest 
observers being able to detect that the egg was hatched before 
being turned loose in the sea. 



124 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Of the kelp fishes there are twenty-five species. These are 
chiefly confined to the beds of kelp which are characteristic of the 
California coast, nothing like it existing on the Atlantic. Some 
of these feed upon seaweeds themselves, more upon the mollusks 
and crabs which find their home among the marine plants. Like 
the rock fishes, the kelp fishes are usually taken by the baited 
hook from the deck of a boat. 

There are ten anadromous species; that is, species which ascend 
the river in the spring or fall for the purpose of spawning in 
fresh water, but passing the greater part of their lives in the sea. 
Of the anadromous fishes the most important are the salmon ; the 
largest in size are the sturgeons. But besides these species 
several little ones, such as the lampreys, have similar habits. 

The fisheries of the coast as a whole are relatively little 
developed. The bay of San Francisco, the bay of Monterey, the 
bay of San Diego, and a region about Avalon are fully fished — 
over-fished at times; but the great length of the coast remains 
almost untouched. Captain Collins estimates that on the 2,000 
miles of the coast of California, Oregon and Washington the fish- 
eries are about equal to those of 500 miles on the coast of New 
England. The value of the product is about the same in the two 
districts, and may be roughly set down at $15,000,000 per year. 
Of this amount the salmon fisheries of the Columbia represent 
between a third and a fourth, and some $4,000,000 belongs to 
California. This represents from 30,000,000 to 40,000,000 pounds 
of fishes each year. 

The salmon fisheries of the Sacramento are chieflj^ in the 
counties of Solano and Contra Costa. For a number of years these 
fisheries steadily declined. This was due to over-fishing and to the 
destruction of the spawning beds through lumbering and placer 
mining. Practically, the only spawning beds left in the Sacra- 
mento basin are in the river itself about Red Bluff. The United 
States Fish Commission came to the rescue, and through the 
hatchery stations at Baird and Battle Creek it has repopulated 
the river. At present more salmon run in the Sacramento than 
when the stream flowed through primeval wilderness. 

The salmon of the Sacramento is the quinnat or king salmon, 
the largest and finest of all the salmon tribe. It reaches in four 
years an average weight of sixteen pounds. When mature, at the 
age of three or four years, it leaves the sea and runs up the stream 
to spawn. It leaves the sea in early summer and spawns in the 
fall in the upper reaches of the rivers. After spawning all die, 
male and female. After leaving the sea the salmon of this species 
never feed, although they readily take the trolling hook in Mon- 
terey bay. The salmon has from 4,000 to 5,000 eggs. As naturally 
spawned, one egg in a hundred or more hatches and escapes its 
enemies. The fish hatchery undertakes to hatch ninety-five out of 
every one hundred and to put them in the river to drift downward 
to the sea— "tail foremost," in the old salmon fashion— to return 
again as mature fishes. The salmon are best as taken in or near 



THE PISHES OP CALIPORNIA. 125 

the sea. From Aii^ist to October the okl ones are practically 
unfit for food, being lean and poor. 

Besides the trout and salmon, California has many 
The Real other game fish. First of these is the great tunny, or 
Fish Royal, leaping tuna, which ranges from 150 pounds to half 
a ton, and finds its greatest abundance about Avalon. 
This wonderful bay has many roving fishes, taken with the troll- 
ing spoon— the yellowtail, the albicore, and the huge bass called 
jewfish, wdth a head as large as a bushel basket. The barracuda 
and the great flying-fish are among the game fishes about the 
Santa Barbara islands. 

These noble fishes deserve protection from the amateur angler 
who catches a dozen or a hundred, has them hung up and photo- 
graphed, himself beside them, then hires the guide to bury them 
while he goes away to have fun in his own fashion somewhere else. 

Of introduced fishes, two, the striped bass and the shad, both 
planted about 1878 from the Potomac and the Schuylkill, have been 
of the greatest value to California. The striped bass can be found 
in the markets at all times, and in flavor they are as good as in 
their native waters. 

Other fishes which have been introduced are the carp, which has 
proved an unmitigated nuisance ; the two species of catfish, which 
while having value, have displaced better native fishes and should 
have been left at home; the black bass, which thrives well in the 
ponds; and the green-blue sunfish, introduced into Clear lake as 
food for the bass. The most valuable fish yet to be introduced is 
the Japanese ayu, or samlet, a diminutive salmon about a foot 
long, as delicate in flesh as a fish can be. It runs in countless 
niunbers in all the clear streams of Japan, Corea, and P^'ormosa, 
and should have a place in California. The eel should also be 
introduced into California. 

I may note in passing that the markets of San Francisco fall 
far short of what they ought to be, and many fish are served in a 
stale condition. Even our best hotels are none too particular, for 
w^hich reason our Eastern visitors often wrongly infer that our 
fish are not as good as those to which they are accustomed. The 
fish are just as good, but in our glorious climate they keep longer 
without decaying. But in doing this they grow very stale and 
lose their fine flavor. The difl^erence is not in the fish, but in the 
care the dealers take of them, and as to this San Francisco will 
some time grow more exacting. 

The fisheries of Alaska are also largely tributary to 
We Get California, being developed by California capital and 

Best. ^^^® product mostly brought to San I'rancisco. The 

red salmon, blueback salmon, or sockeye, in Alaska 
outranks in value every other species of fish in the world. Its 
annual product in Alaska is worth $1,000,000 more than the original 
cost of Alaska to the United States. It exceeds the entire mineral 
output of Alaska per year by $1,750,000. The pack of red salmon 
and other salmon for 1902 amounted to 2,631,320 cases (forty- 



126 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

eight pounds), ^vorth on an average about $3.50 each, or $9,207,520 
in all. That of 1903 is somewhat smaller, but is valued at between 
$6,000,000 and $8,000,000. The greatest red salmon fisheries are 
about Bristol bay and Kadiak island, but the species runs in some 
thirty different streams from Puget sound northward to the Yukon. 

The codfish is as abundant in the North Pacific as in the North 
Atlantic, but the limitations of the market have prevented their 
development, except about the Shumagin islands and in the sea of 
Okhotsk. The herring and halibut have also a large and growing 
importance in Alaska. 

The following is a list of the chief food fishes of Cali- 

Our Chief fornia, arranged in systematic order, beginning with 

Food Fishes, those of simplest anatomical structure. They are 

grouped in classes. A— those of high importance; 

B, C, D — progressively less: 

Soup-fin shark (D), used by Chinese; California ray (D), used 
by Latin people. 

White sturgeon (B), green sturgeon (D). 

Quinnat salmon (A), silver salmon (C). 

Steelhead trout (A), Tahoe trout (A). 

Rainbow trout (A), cut-throat trout (D). 

Dolly Varden trout (D), eulachon (C). 

Surf smelt (B), small smelt (C). 

Shad (introduced. A). 

Herring (A). 

Sardine (A), anchovy (C), silver anchovy (D), moray (D). 

Sucker (D), squaw fish (D). 

Chub (D), carp (introduced, D). 

Bullhead (introduced, B), gray catfish (introduced, D). 

Needle-fish (D), flying-fish (C). 

Pesce rey (blue smelt, A) ; small pesce rey, miscalled smelt or 
white bait (C). 

Mullet (B), barracuda (A). 

Sand lance (D), chub mackerel (C). 

Santa Cruz mackerel (D), tuna (A). 

Albicore (A), oceanic bomto (D). 

California bomto (B), alleterato (D). 

Sword fish (C), yellowtail (A). 

Horse mackerel (C) ; poppy fish, miscalled pompano (B). 

Mariposa (D), Sacramento perch (C). 

Striped bass (introduced, A), jewfish (B), San Diego rock bass 
(C), banded ronco (D). 

Spot-fin cracker (C), queenfish (B). 

Kingfish (C), sea bass (A). 

Weakfish (D) ; California surf fishes or perch, twenty kinds 
(C, D). 

Garibaldi (D), fathead (B). 

Seiiorita (D), headfish (D). 

Rock fish, thirty species, called rock cod (A). 



CATTLE-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 127 

Priestfish, Spanish flag, Boccaccio, etc., red, black, green, banded 
or speckled (A, B). 

Skilfish (C), greenling (C). 

Blue-spotted greenling, sea trout (B) ; ciUtus cod (C). 

Blanquillo (C). kelp fish (D). 

Pollack (D), tomeod (B). 

Hake (C), halibut (A). 

Monterey halibut (B) ; flounders, thirty kinds (B, C). 



CATTLE^RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 



By peter J. SHIELDS. 



The breeding of livastock in California has many features 
peculiar to itself, and may well be said to be in a formative condi- 
tion. The breeding and ranging of cattle of both the beef and the 
dairy varieties are in a condition of adjustment, and the next ten 
years will witness many material changes in the manner in which 
they are conducted. 

California is probably the only one of the Middle Western and 
Pacific Coast states which does not produce all the dairy and beef 
cattle used and consumed within its borders, and at the same time 
ship cattle for slaughter. This condition is the more remarkable 
when taken in connection with another fact, which is that Califor- 
nia is the best fitted by reason of soil, climate and food products to 
produce cattle economically of any state in the Union. The rea- 
sons for this underproduction are many. California is not an old 
state, nor is its population dense. Its agriculture is not greatly 
diversified, and there is almost an entire absence of the small 
breeder and of small herds bred and fed upon the farm. The 
chief reason, however, is that California's energies have been 
exercised in other directions, and she has subordinated her beef- 
groM'ing and dairy industries to others which she has carried to a 
high development. Her first great industry was mining, and she 
produced more gold than any other state in the Union, or other 
subdivision of the earth. AVheat-growing followed, in which she 
took high rank, especially excelling in the use of agricultural 
machinery. Horticulture succeeded, and in this particular she is 
without a parallel. Cattle-breeding has waited on these industries; 
but in the progress of events the day of the cow has come, and the 
next few years will witness a development and perfection in the 
breeding of high-class cattle which will compare with her present 
horticultural pre-eminence. 

At the time of the acquisition of the territory of California by 
the United States in 1848 large herds of cattle of the Mexican 



128 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

type roamed over her foothills and valleys in almost a wild state. 
They were slaughtered chiefly for their hides and tallow, which 
were purchased by traders plying vessels along the coast. Follow- 
ing the American occupation these conditions did not rapidly 
change, and some features of them still remain. The cattle-breed- 
ing industry of California is still distinguished by the large hold- 
ings of land, the vast herds and the great ranges. The ranges of 
such breeders as Miller & Lux and the Kern County Land Com- 
pany easily exceed one million acres each, while ranges of nearly 
equal extent are owned and used by Cox & Clark, Vail & Gates, 
J. V. Vickers, The California Agricultural and Pastoral Company, 
the Howard Estate and many others. California, however, is not 
exclusively a range state. A very large number of cattle are bred 
and fed on irrigated alfalfa ranges in the central and southern 
San Joaquin valley. Many cattle, too, are grown on the alfalfa 
fields in the Sacramento valley, where, on the moist rich lands 
along the rivers and on the irrigated tracts, alfalfa grows to per- 
fection ; and wherever this incomparable crop is grown animal life 
takes on its highest development. 

The number of cattle in the State is difficult to determine, the 
census returns from California being probably less reliable than 
those from other states where the holdings are smaller and the 
herds much more numerous. A study of the returns shows that 
the number of cattle is only slightly increasing under the range 
system. And it is not probable that it will increase. We nuist 
look for increase only as the result of the spread of irrigation, the 
growing of more alfalfa, the subdivision of large holdings, and the 
advent of the farmer breeder and feeder. In 1860 California 
ranked sixth among the states as a cattle producer, reporting 
1,180,142 head. In 1870, she fell to eleventh place, reporting less 
than two thirds as many cattle as ten years previously. Slie 
showed little increase in 1880, by which time she had fallen to the 
rank of twenty-first among the states. In 1890 she reached her 
highest mark, when she ranked thirteenth with 1,367,118 head. 
By the census of 1900 she had fallen to seventeenth place, and the 
number of cattle had declined to 1,115,194 head. Wliile those 
enumerations are probably under the correct figures, they clearly 
show that California has been developing her other industries at 
the expense of cattle-breeding, and that it was chiefly from progress 
in other lines that she has obtained her high rank among the states 
as a producer of wealth. In the United States there are 17.64 
head of cattle per square mile, while in California there are but 
7.15 head, she ranking fortieth among the states and territories. 

To determine what percentage of the cattle used and consumed in 
California are bred and grown in the State is difficult. The best 
advices at the writer's command lead to the conclusion that not 
more than forty-five per cent of the cattle slaughtered in Cali- 
fornia are home-bred and grown. 

There are slaughtered in San Francisco each month about 15,000 
cattle, at Los Angeles about 9,000, at Sacramento about 1,000, at 
Stockton and Fresno about 800 each, and at other places in the 



CATTLE-RAISING IN C^VLIFORNIA. 



129 



State such an additional nmnber as brings the monthly average 
up to about 50,000 head. To supply this demand there are 
annually brought into the State from the Republic of Mexico, 
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon and Nevada about 350,000 
head. Of this number about 150,000 come from Oregon and 
Nevada, about 150,000 from New Mexico and Arizona, and the 
remaining 50,000 from Texas and Mexico. 

The grade of the cattle slaughtered in California is not at present 
as high as that of those which supply the great cattle markets of 
the ]\Iiddle Western States. They are very largely range cattle 
and occasionally show in addition to the ordinary range character- 
istics some slight traces of their Mexican ancestry. Considering 




irOI.STEIN CALVES. 



their breeding, however, California cattle are unequaled, as the 
favorable climatic conditions under which they grow produce an 
excellence unapproached by animals no better bred. The use of 
pure-bred bulls upon the range is largely increasing, and range 
cattle are showing a marked improvement in size and quality. 
When they have been graded up to the breed standard of Eastern 
cattle, they will be of greatly superior individuality and merit, 
owing to the richness of the California grasses, and the climatic 
conditions being so favorable to growth and development. The 
cattle brought into California from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas 
and Mexico are most frequently Hereford grades and show more 
or less the characteristics of that breed. The Oregon and Nevada 
cattle have been generally Shorthorn grades of good type, but in 



130 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

recent years the cattle from these states show a strong infusion of 
Hereford blood. Of the home-grown cattle of California about 
two thirds are produced south of San Joaquin county and about 
one third north of that place. These cattle are chiefly of the Short- 
horn type, being grades of that breed upon the native cattle. 

The first improvement of our cattle, however, was through the 
use of "American" cattle brought across the plains in pioneer 
days. These animals were undoubtedly mostly grades of some of 
the improved breeds. The cattle of the northern part of the State 
are of marked superiority over those farther south, owing to the 
much larger number of pure-bred sires having been used by the 
northern breeders. This larger use is attributed to the annual 
exhibitions of fine cattle at the state fairs at Sacramento, surround- 
ing which city the superiority is most marked. 

In cattle classed in the census as "milch cows" Cali- 
CattLB fornia ranks somewhat better than as a producer of 
beef animals. While she occupies the same rank, being 
seventeenth in each, she compares more favorably with the states 
ahead of her. The last census credits California with 307,245 
milch cows, being about one fifth as many as New York and Iowa 
and one third as many as Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Dairy 
statistics of California will be given elsewhere ; it will be sufficient 
here to say that the quality of the dairy cattle of this State is not 
as high as that of other states which have specialized along dairy 
lines, and that until recent years the breeding of dairy cattle has 
experienced the neglect incident to our more general attention to 
other industries. As to breed, the native or common cow predom- 
inates among our dairy cattle, although a very large percentage 
of them give indications of more or less improved blood. Short- 
horn predominating. Jersey blood is very generally evidenced, 
with Holstein showing an increasing popularity. 

While the general average of California's beef and 
Pure-bred dairy cattle is not high, the contrary is true of the 
Cattle. pure-bred cattle within her borders. The great for- 

tunes which our pioneer citizens accumulated in the 
mines, in railroad con.struction, fruit- and wheat-growing, enabled 
them to indulge their taste for fine-bred animals, and early in our 
history and constantly since some of the choicest animals which 
money could buy have been purchased for California. Many 
famous herds have been collected, and from their increase, and as a 
consequence of their dismemberment and sale, many smaller herds 
are now scattered throughout the State, representing the best types 
of the various breeds. These herds have been well maintained, 
others are constantly being established, and California may safely 
be said to be on the verge of a great cattle-breeding development. 

Shorthorns were first of all the varieties of pure-bred 
Shopthopns. cattle to be introduced into California, and have 
always remained favorites with our beef-breeders and 
dairymen. Among both our beef and dairy cattle the Shorthorn 
cross is most frequently encountered, and to it we are probably 
most indebted for what progress we have made in improving our 



CATTLE-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 



131 



cattle. The first known introduction of pure-bred Shorthorns into 
the State occurred in 1858, although well-bred animals had pre- 
viously been brought in by immigrant trains across the plains. 
After this, importations were steady and frequent, until now the 
blood of this royal breed is well distributed and in the hands of 
aggressive and intelligent breeders. At the present time twelve or 
fifteen large-sized breeding herds exist in the State, representing 
all of the most prominent families, domestic and imported, includ- 
ing a number of herds of high-class milking Shorthorns. In addi- 
tion to these, many smaller herds exist, and still more herds of 
very high-grade females headed by choice, pure-bred sires. A 
splendid field exists in California for the establishment of choice 




CATTLE IN CLOVER. 



herds of this popular breed, where a ready sale for surplus animals 
at good prices is assured. 

Of recent years, the Hereford, now so popular as 
Hepefopds. feeders both in the corn-growing states and upon the 

western ranges, has been making many friends in 
California. Up to 1884 this breed was known only to our people 
through individual specimens, but during that year a large herd 
was brought to California from New Zealand, shown at the state 
fair at Sacramento, and sold throughout the State. Since that 
time these cattle have enjoyed an increasing popularity until 
within the last few years they have been taken up by many strong 
breeders and may now be considered as well established here. Six 
or eight large and very superior herds of the choicest Herefords 



132 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

are now owned in California and the breed is daily obtaining a 
wider popularity. A strong demand exists for cattle of this breed, 
and a much greater number could be bred here at a good profit. 

This highly meritorious breed is singularly fitted for a 
Devons. considerable use under the conditions which prevail 

in California, but is unaccountably neglected. The 
first Devons were brought here in 1860, and since that time have 
been bred and used by a number of active breeders. Some use is 
now made of Devon bulls, but few animals of the breed are avail- 
able and our breeders have generally cea.sed to look for or use 
them. But one or two pure-bred herds are owned in the State, and 
they are little advertised and never exhibited. An active breeder of 
this useful breed, having good animals, could undoubtedly find a 
ready sale for his surplus at good prices. 

It will occur to the breeders and feeders of the great 
Polled An- ^liddle AYestern cattle belt as strange that these great 
gus and • breeds are little used in California, but such is the 
Galloways, f^ct. For some reason our range breeders have not 

regarded them as successful when ranged with large 
herds of the type of cattle used in California under the conditions 
which prevail here. In small herds, as feeders and in the hands 
of the farmer breeder, they have been most successful, but as such 
herds have not been numerously maintained heretofore in Cali- 
fornia, these animals have not been sought for. Under the changed 
conditions now dawning in the State they will be in demand and 
the time is now ripe for the establishment here of good herds of 
these famous breeds. 

A few Red Polls have been brought to California and 
Red Polls have met with popular favor. Wherever they have 
and Brown been used, either in the dairy or on the range, they 
Swiss. have given satisfaction; but their use has been so 

recent and so limited that they have made no impres- 
sion on the type of California cattle. Even less can be said of 
the Brown Swiss, of which the writer knows of only one herd 
in the State. 

This great bi-eed has been strangely neglected in 
Gu ernseys. California. In 1881 the first herd was brought to 

this State direct from the island, but it was not long 
maintained. Its dispersal, however, carried its blood into many 
of the practical dairies of the State, and did its part to enrich 
them. Individual animals have from time to time been brought 
here, and at the present time a number of choice animals of this 
breed are being used and bred from in the larger dairy region 
about Fresno. They are meeting with such favor that the demand 
for Guernseys is noAv great, and a breeder of these popular 
animals could find no better place to conduct his business than 
in California. 

This great breed has long been popular in California 
Jerseys, and is the most generally distributed of any of the 

improved dairy breeds. Fortunately for the Jerseys, 
they early attracted the attention of a number of California's 



CATTLE-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 133 

wealthy men, who spared neither money nor pains to secure the 
best possible representatives of the breed. The first Jerseys in 
any number were brought here in 1872, and for some years follow- 
ing they were brought very numerously into the State, shown at 
the annual fairs, and distributed generally over the State. Most 
of our dairy herds show some trace of Jersey blood, while we 
have a large number composed of very high-grade animals headed 
by registered Jersey sires. In California the Jersey has prospered 
exceptionall.y, the mild climate and rich grasses of the State 
approximating closely to those of the island home of the breed. 
The breed is in good hands in California, and it is destined to 
reach a high development here. Two Jersey societies are organ- 
ized, and the breed is represented by a very large number of 
small but choice herds. But few large breeding herds exist in the 
hands of aggressive promoters, but the wide distribution of the 
breed and their adaptability to California conditions insure their 
maintaining their position. 

In Holstein cattle California is most prominent. 
Holsteins. Several of our most wealthy men early made favor- 
ites of this great dairy breed, and their keen though 
friendly rivalry gave a great stimulus to heavy importation. 
A few Holsteins were shown here in 1874, but not until about 
1883 were they generally introduced. About that time many 
large herds were established here, most of which have since been 
dispersed and widely distributed. This breed is now liberally 
used in all parts of the State and is giving general satisfaction. 
They are used with particular success where alfalfa grows in 
abundance and upon the rich bottom lands, resembling those 
of Holland, lying along California's great river system. Several 
small herds of this great breed now exist here, while three large 
herds have been collected and established, of a character which 
will compare favorably with the best herds of this breed in the 
Eastern States. One of these herds particularly is said to be 
easily the best in the United States, and to contain more choice 
animals and high-testing cows than any in this country. With the 
general introduction of irrigation and increase in population this 
breed will achieve a still wider popularity. 

A considerable change is destined to soon take place 
Future in the cattle conditions of California. Her mining, 

Conditions, grain-growing and fruit-producing industries have 
been largely developed, and she is now turning her 
attention to livestock-raising and mixed farming. Irrigation is 
being much more extensively resorted to, and alfalfa much more 
generally grown. This plant grows in California more perfectly 
probably than anywhere else in the United States. By reason of 
this incomparable crop, and because the climatic and other physi- 
cal conditions here are unequaled, we can raise cattle as nowhere 
else, and our people are beginning to so realize. Our large hold- 
ings are being broken up into homesteads, our population is 
rapidly increasing, and the day of the small farmer and farm- 



134 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

breeder is near at hand. When the grade of our cattle is raised by 
the use of pure-bred sires ; when attention is given to care, 
selection and breeding, we will grow cattle in California which 
will give us a distinction as unique as that which we have here- 
tofore enjoyed by reason of our products of fruit and gold. Cattle 
so gro^vn will constitute an outcross for Eastern herds. The 
climatic and phj^sical conditions are so different here, and with 
care and attention the type of our animals will be so perfect and 
their constitutions so sound, that the Eastern breeder, when seek- 
ing blood with which to strengthen and improve his herd, will 
look across the continent to California, instead of as now, across 
the ocean to the mother countries. 



DAIRY INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



By ARTHUR R. BRIGGS, 
General Manager of the California State Board of Trade. 



The dairy industry of California is of all the first to give returns 
to new settlers, and is therefore entitled to first consideration 
by homeseekers. The impression prevails that there is much to 
learn in farming in California before one can hope to secure a 
comfortable living and enjoy the benefits which have been repre- 
sented to him as an inducement to come to this State ; but with 
the opportunity for making a good living at the outset, such as 
is presented in dairy farming, the newcomer has time to make 
himself familiar with the new conditions, and enjoy a fair return 
for his labor while he is studying the methods of fruit-growing 
and other branches of farming. 

The State Board of Trade has occasion to answer almost daily, 
"How can a living be made the first year?" and, "What invest- 
ment is required for one to establish himself on a profitable basis 
in a new home?" The first question is already answered. The 
second can only be answered in a general way; but the following 
estimate of cost should enable the average man to reach a fairly 
correct conclusion of Avhat is necessary : 

Forty acres of land, with water rights .$2,000 

Buildings — house, barn, sheds, fences, etc 8.50 

Domestic animals — horses, etc 400 

Ten acres seeded to alfalfa the first year 100 

Trees and shrubs about house, and for family orchard, etc. .. . 25 

Farming utensils and implements 75 

Total $3,450 

In the purchase of land it is not necessary to make the full pay- 
ment the first year. One-third payment, or say $650 to $700, is 



DAIRY INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 135 

generally the rule, and the balance can be carried one, two or 
three years, in equal amounts, so that the actual cash outlay at 
first need not exceed the sum of $2,000 or $2,500. With this 
capital the intelligent, industrious and economical farmer may 
safely establish a new home on forty acres of irrigated land in 
California. 

The dairy interest in California is both interesting and impor- 
tant—interesting by reason of its possibilities, and important 
from its present magnitude. Dairy farming in this State may be 
classified into the following principal districts : The Humboldt 
district, which comprises Humboldt and Del Norte counties; the 
coast district, which comprises the coast counties, from Mendo- 
cino on the north to Santa Barbara on the south ; the Sacramento 
Valley district, which comprises the country north of Stockton 
to Shasta county; the mountain district, which comprises Lassen, 
Sierra, Plumas and Siskiyou counties; the San Joaquin Valley 
district, which comprises the territory from Stockton on the north 
to the Tehachapi range on the south ; and the Southern California 
district, which includes all that part of the State south of the 
Tehachapi range. 

Conditions differ widely in these districts, and yet generally 
the quality of the butter produced is fairly maintained at the 
average high standard for which this State is famed. According 
to the last biennial report of the State Dairy Bureau the quantity 
of butter produced in 1904 was 35,636,969 pounds, representing 
a value of $8,374,673, of which 26,433,060 pounds were from 
creameries and 9,203,909 pounds from individual dairies; against 
28,678,439 pounds in 1897, of which 10,866,646 pounds were from 
creameries and 17,811,793 pounds from individual dairies. 

This illustrates the growth of the industry and the tendency of 
dairymen to operate through creameries, rather than attempt to 
compete with these institutions with butter made on the farm, 
which is not as uniform in quality nor as high in grade as the 
creamery product. 

One of the principal features of difference in the districts men- 
tioned is the character of feed. In the Humboldt district the 
industry is about stationary, and the available range for cows is 
pretty well occupied. In this district there are about forty small 
creameries, and most of the butter in the district is manufactured 
by them. On the coast there are but few creameries. This dis- 
trict is not holding its own in butter-production, owing, for one 
thing, to the demand of San Francisco for milk, which is supplied 
from this source. The Sacramento Valley district is on the 
increase. Woodland, the vicinity of the Sacramento, and the 
reclaimed lands of the Sacramento river, are among the principal 
producing points in the State. The mountain district, though 
less important in point of quantity, holds its own. The San 
Joaquin Valley district exhibits rapid growth, the estimated gain 
being 15 to 30 per cent in 1904 as compared with 1903. Here is 
a wide area in alfalfa, and this is increasing largely from year to 



136 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

year. Dairy herds and dairy farming increase in like ratio. The 
southern district depends on cultivated crops and alfalfa for feed. 

The industry, as a whole, is well established on a profitable 
basis throughout the State, although it has not yet reached the 
limit of coast consumption. Taken as a whole, the industry now 
represents a value of upward of $18,000,000 annually. The State 
Board of Trade predicts that it will develop rapidly in the future 
until California will be shipping extensively toward Eastern 
markets, instead of standing in the list of dairy states as an 
importer. 

At certain times of the year, when local conditions favor it, 
large quantities of Eastern-made butter are shipped to the San 
Francisco market. This butter does not come up to the standard 
in quality of the California product, and is usually sold at prices 
slightly below the market for State product. Prices of butter 
in San Francisco are uniformly maintained on a higher basis than 
is obtainable for creamery butter in the Middle West. 

The tendency in butter-making is more and more to creameries, 
but there is a disposition to decrease rather than increase the 
number of these factories. Experience seems to demonstrate the 
claims that large institutions can minimize the cost of butter- 
making, and that under good business management dairymen 
secure better results than by making butter on the farms or 
working through small creameries. Centralization of the industry 
in the respective districts gives uniformity of quality, and to some 
extent prevents unprofitable competition in marketing the 
product. 

The largest creameries in the State are in Fresno, Los Angeles, 
Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, with capacity 
ranging from about 325,000 to 900,000 pounds annually. The 
output of these institutions is capable of large increase Avithout 
enlarging present manufacturing capacity. 

The quantity of cheese manufactured here for the year 1904, 
according to the report of the State Dairy Bureau, aggregated 
6,133,898 pounds, representing a value of $613,898. The dairy 
industry of California is largely in the hands of men who have 
been bred to the business — Danes, Swedes, Italian-Swiss and 
Portuguese. Americans control about one half the dairies of the 
State. The business is open to all, and there is no reason why 
any one class should be more successful than another with equal 
intelligence and experience. Near Sacramento, San Jose and 
Fresno the business is largely in the hands of Americans. The 
number of American farmers in this branch is rapidly increasing, 
particularly in the irrigated districts, and where the dairymen 
are owners of the land, not renters. Where the foreign element 
predominates they are generally renters. 

Dairy herds in California are being constantly improved. 
Shorthorns, Jerseys and Holsteins are most in favor. Alfalfa, 
which a few years ago was not regarded as suited to the making 
of high-class butter, is now recognized as the ideal grass for dairy 



DAIRY INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



137 



stock, and the peculiar advantage a dairyman has in an alfalfa 
district is in the greater number of cows that can be maintained. 
On alfalfa fields the quantity of milk per cow is greater than 
under other conditions. While ten cows and their increase can be 
maintained well on fifteen, at most twenty, acres of alfalfa the 
year around, ten acres of land are necessary to support a single 
cow where the native feed is used. On alfalfa feed cows well 
conditioned should give from 200 to 350 pounds of butter annu- 
ally per head; but where only native feed is had the return per 
cow ranges from 125 to 150 pounds. 

The matter of increase in calves is important. Dairies are 
renewed from the young stock. The dairyman has his hogs, 




A DAIRY HERD. 



which are fed and raised on the skim-milk. These sources bring 
considerable additional revenue. Cows properly cared for will 
yield a return of from $5 to $7 a month each, or from $60 to $85 
annually. 

The San Joaquin Ice Company at Fresno a few years ago 
secured a herd of high-bred cows, Holsteins and Jerseys, and 
inaugurated the policy of supplying them on lease contracts. Any 
farmer owning his farm, or who has made sufficient payment on 
a purchase of land, or invested enough in improvements to class 
him as a permanent settler, can, on application to the company,, 
secure as many cows as he can properly care for, be it five or 
fifty. The purchase price is stated in the lease. The farmer has 
full possession and control, with the increase. He contracts to 



138 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

well care for the stock; to deliver all the cream or butter-fat — 
except what is necessarj' for home requirements— to the creamery, 
and to permit one half the monthly returns to be applied as part 
payment on the contract. From actual experience it is shown 
that the majority of cows put out on lease are fully paid for in 
two years. The farmer has his monthly income, amounting to 
one half the yield from the cows, all the increase and the hogs he 
has been able to support meantime. 

With ordinary care cows are profitable for dairj^ purposes until 
they are from ten to twelve years old, and can then be fattened 
and sold for beef. 

This industry affords wide opportunity for men of moderate 
as well as men of large means. The dairyman who delivers the 
product of five cows to the creamery stands on exactly the same 
footing as to price and other conditions as one who has fifty or 
one hundred cows. In this business there is no partiality or 
preference. The farmer has success in his oaati hands, and the 
measure of that success is his industry, economy and business 
capacity. 



POULTRY^RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 



By L. C. BYCE, 

President of the Petaluma Incubator Company. 



In the early days of California following the gold excitement, 
a family which constituted part of an emigrant train that crossed 
the plains brought with them, in addition to horses and cattle, a 
few hens. The latter, while en route, were allowed their freedom 
in the evening, after the party had struck camp, and later on as 
the hens settled upon the wheels of the wagons or other suitable 
place to roost for the night, were carefully tucked away in their 
coops, only to have this repeated over and over again. Arriving 
at a California mining-camp every evidence of civilization, includ- 
ing the chickens, was welcomed. A good flock of hens at the 
time above referred to would have been equal to a gold mine, for 
the family owning these hens found ready sale for every egg at 
almost fabulous prices, as high as $6 in gold dust being paid for a 
single egg. 

The luring sight of gold and its quest soon caused the chickens 
to be forgotten, and but few people interested themselves, and 
then only in a small way, until in the seventies. Previously no 
thought seemed to be given to the poultry business as a commer- 
cial proposition or as a means of livelihood, although late years 
have fully demonstrated that golden opportunities were lost. The 



POULTRY-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 



139 



writer, who was also engaged in perfecting a system of artificial 
incubation, imported from many of the Eastern poultry yards 
large quantities of fowls, disposing of them in small numbers, 
which became widely scattered, and by encouraging those of 
limited or small means there has grown up a business of such 
magnitude as to be almost beyond the conception of the person 
hearing of it for the first time. 

Immediately surrounding Petaluma there are over one million 
laying hens, making it the greatest poultry section of the world. 
Other places in the southern, middle, and northern parts of the 
State are very rapidly coming into prominence as poultry sections. 
The valleys of California that are well sheltered by the mountains 
and have an abundance of good water are admirablj^ adapted to 
poultry-raising, and on account of conditions the smaller valleys 
are the best adapted. The growth has been enormous during the 




SMALL POULTRY FARMS WITHIN CITY LIMITS OF PETALUMA. 



past decade. Hundreds of families of limited means have acquired 
small places and engaged in the poultry business, and are not 
only realizing a fine livelihood, but many have bank accounts of 
no mean proportions. 

The prospects for success are more promising than in the East 
or in northern latitudes, for the climate precludes the necessity of 
extremely warm housing; hens run out every day in the year, 
hence have free and unlimited exercise; snow in the valleys is a 
phenomenon ; the rains of our winters are beneficial to the fowls 
rather than a detriment to them, for it is then that vegetation is 
at its height. 

Prices obtained for eggs and poultry average high, and although 
many are engaged in the business yet there is room for hundreds 
more, for the home production meets but little more than half the 
demand, and at the rapid rate at which California's population 
is being increased the demand for poultry and eggs is also increas- 



140 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



iug. Several hundred carloads of eggs and live poultry are sent 
from points in the Western States to the Pacific Coast markets 
during a year, usually to San Francisco and Los Angeles, to 
make up for the large deficiency in home production. 

One peculiar and withal very desirable feature of poultry-rais- 
ing in California is that large numbers of fowls may be allowed to 
roam together in perfect health without fear of disease being 
contracted. Such conditions in any other part of the world 
invariably mean disaster to the flock, and this is another feature 
which greatly adds to the profit side of the poultryman's account. 
Some of the valleys present the appearance of one vast poultry 
farm, and upon ascending a prominence overlooking the same a 
scene is presented that would make an Eastern friend realize at a 
glance what superior advantages are possessed by the California 
poultrymen. A soil unequaled, a climate unapproached : the best 
and purest water in numerous places running down from the 
mountain sides; a sunshine warm and invigorating, but never too 




— "p:jj,-:T"rr;'ri.- 






.^^**^_- 




WIIITK LKCirOUXS. 



hot; natural green feed the year around, and with no cold or 
rigorous winters, necessitating specially constructed and often- 
times artificially warmed poultry houses — is it any wonder that 
California is fast becoming known as the poultryman's paradise? 

One will naturally ask. Is it possible for any person to make a 
failure under all the favorable conditions? To which we answer 
in all sincerity and truthfulness, Yes, there are failures, by those 
who have sought this line of business on the ground that "any 
one can raise chickens, ' ' and having failed in everything else tries 
the one business of all which any one can conduct, according to 
his statement, and fails, because instead of managing it right, 
mismanages as he has done in other lines, while his neighbor with 
the same class of fowls and on similar land and in the same 
glorious climate, and using the feed that the market affords, 
continues to swell his bank account. 

While the majority of those engaged in the poultry business 
keep flocks of hens for laying purposes (and the White Leghorn 
variety is used almost exclusively), there are others near the 



POULTRY-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 



141 



cities devoting their energies to duck-raising, while others in the 
interior where there is plenty of range raise turkeys in immense 
numbers, so that boys or men herd them during the day, much as 
<i shepherd does his sheep. The writer has seen a flock of twelve 
hundred turkeys in charge of a boy with saddle pony and dog, 
and has been told of many larger flocks in the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin valleys. A very extensive duck-raiser near San Francisco 
informed me that during eleven months of last year he hatched 
and got read}^ for market 49,800 ducks and 1,485 chickens, 
and sold ofi; the ducks at eight and ten weeks of age, 10,000 at $1 
each to the Chinese population, while the others brought from 
^6 per dozen to occasionally $12. 

Here are also figures given by some who are conducting the 
poultry business in only a limited way. One man reports the 
following : 

"I send you the result of a single year's work wuth 296 hens. 
Eggs and broilers sold, $1,110.12 ; gross cost of feed, $195.35 ; net, 




POULTRY FARM OF THREE THOUSAND HENS. 



$918.76. Have had the hens divided into two yards, occupying 
about five acres of ground." 

Another man reports as follows: "From a flock of 500 hens 
I have sold 3,723 dozen eggs, averaging 31^ cents per dozen, 
$1,170.98 ; 145 broilers at 42yo cents each, $61.35 ; 200 pullets at 
50 cents each, $100.00 ; total, $1,332.33, from which deduct for feed 
of various kinds, $400.00, leaving a net profit of $932.33." 

Hundreds of such instances as these could be given, but it is 
always safe to estimate on what the average person is making. It 
is placing a very low estimate to say that any person can count 
on a net profit of $1 per hen per annum; in fact, the writer does 
not know of any one who is not doing better than this. 

From a recent issue of a San Francisco paper, the Pacific Rural 
Press, the following is taken: "That truth is stronger than fic- 
tion is deeply impressed on the judicious observer who visits 
Petaluma for the first time and takes note of the wonderful magni- 
tude of the poultry industry. Twenty-six years ago Mr. L. C. 
Byee, now President of the Petaluma Incubator Company, settled 



142 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

in the quiet country village up the creek and determined to make 
it the greatest poultry center in the world. Working alone at the 
carpenter's bench he began the manufacture of incubators which 
have now become so justly famous. At that time there were few 
fowls in the State, but Mr Byce's dream has been realized. The 
entire country surrounding Petaluma teems with chickens, nearly 
all White Leghorns. The 'ranches' are small, usually consisting 
of five- and ten-acre tracts. The number of fowls owned by each 
farmer ranges from 500 to 8,000. Climate, soil, locality, price of 
feed and access to market, all contribute to the success of the 
industry, and hundreds of men are establishing themselves on 
little ranches, with the assurance that financial independence 
waits on intelligent management, industry, cleanliness, and per- 
severance." 

One might infer from the above that a man can keep 8,000 fowls 
on a piece of land not to exceed ten acres ; such, however, is not the 
case. All of the poultrymen in the vicinity of Petaluma who keep 
from 5,000 to 8,000 fowls have from 200 to 300 acres of land, on 
which the fowls roam at large, the colony system being employed ; 
but there are those in other parts of the State employing the yard 
system, who keep large numbers of fowls on a small piece of ground. 
Each plan has its advocates, and there are many who are making 
good money on both plans. It is not so much the system as the 
ability of the man to handle the business. 

Much has been said and written on the poultry industry of Cali- 
fornia, of the wonderful adaptability of soil and climate to the 
successful and profitable conduct of the business, and although 
hundreds of people have been attracted to the State to engage in 
poultry-raising, yet the output comes so far short of meeting the 
demand that there is room for hundreds more. San Francisco is 
of course the leading market, but in many other sections the local 
market, owing to existing conditions, is as good as that of San 
Francisco. The large number of vessels engaged in the trans- 
pacific trade leaving the port of San Francisco ; the demands of the 
various and almost innumerable mining and lumber camps; the 
endless summer and vacation houses, and the monster hotels for 
tourists, all require enormous quantities of poultry and eggs, and 
California poultry-raisers must either produce the same or con- 
sumers will still have to look to the Western States to furnish them. 
It does not require much thought or investigation of the subject to 
determine how much more preferable is the fresh California prod- 
uct, and that should point the moral that there is room for more 
producers. 



THE HONEY INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA. 143 



THE HONEY INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA. 



By GEORGE L. EMERSON. 



Bee-keeping and honey-making in California differ materially 
from the same vocation elsewhere. The man who does not have 
two hundred stands or more is scarcely recognized as an apiarist ; 
and when they speak of honey it is nearly always in tons rather 
than in pounds. There are a good many men in the southern 
part of the State w^ho care for five hundred colonies or over; 
that is, they do the expert work and their assistants take care of 
that part which can be left to those of less experience. 

It is counted that a good apiarist can do all the work for two 
hundred stands of bees ; while the same man, with the help of a 
green hand for two months, will manage about three hundred 
stands. Mr. Mendleson of Ventura handles fifteen hundred and 
sixty colonies with hired help, and makes both comb and extracted 
honey. Mr. Mercer, also of Ventura, cares for twelve hundred 
colonies, with the assistance of two men during the busy season. 
But few men could hope to attain the knowledge necessary to care 
for so many bees. 

Southern California is literally the home of the bee. They can 
be found in the trees, rocks, houses, and even have been known 
to build in the branches of the orange tree exposed to the open 
air and there store in the summer under those conditions quite a 
number of pounds of surplus. Houses are favorite haunts, espe- 
cially school houses and churches. They will go into the roof 
through the shingles, or around the windows they may find access 
to space between the studding ; or perhaps they may find a way to 
the inside of the cornice, and even the chimneys— these Lhey often 
choke up with honey until smoke refuses to take its wonted pas- 
sage. During a good season all these wild bees swarm repeatedly, 
and the consequence is that they are found in all likely and 
unlikely places. It is a common thing for a man who knows how 
and is willing to spend time to shake such swarms into a box to 
gather anywhere from twenty-five to one hundred swarms in a 
single summer. These bees are generally hived in anything that 
comes handy. I have bought them myself in anything from a 
bureau drawer to a sugar-barrel, the prices ranging from 50 cents 
to $3 in hives. Bees in hives suitably located sell at from $3 to $5 
per stand, and if the man is an experienced bee-keeper it pays to 
buy them in this condition; but if he is short of money he can 
gradually work into the business by making his own hives, buy- 
ing cheap bees, and transferring them, catching stray swarms and 
taking them out of buildings, etc. 

The writer and his brother own one thousand stands of bees, 



144 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

located in eight modern apiaries. Tavo years ago we produced 
sixty-five tons of extracted honey; last year we got forty-five 
tons. Taking the two years together I do not think that they 
could be considered better than average years. This would make 
an average of fifty-five tons per year. The honey sold at from 
4I/2 to 6 1/2 cents per pound, according to grade and market, but 
for convenience let us saj' the price was 5 cents, or $100 per ton, 
which is $5,500 per year. Two thousand dollars will cover the 
total expense. This leaves $3,500 net, and five months in which 
there is practically nothing to do except visit the apiaries once a 
month and see if everything is all right. We have not spent more 
than an hour's time a month at each apiary during the past 
winter, or from the first of October to the first of March, and our 
bees wintered splendidly. 

There are some men who produce comb honey exclusively. 
Others produce both comb and extracted honey, while the majority 
prefer to handle only the extracted. I believe this to be a question 
for each man to settle for himself, as there are many different 
things to consider; but one thing is certain— it does not pay for 
any one to produce poor comb honey. The cost of production is 
equal to, if not more than, if it had been made when there was a 
good flow of honey, while the selling price may be reduced to one 
half what a fine white comb of full weight will bring. In the 
extracted it does not vary so much. The extremes are not more 
than two cents per pound on the same market. 

Some of the readers of this article may want to know about the 
flora to which we look to furnish feed for our bees. There are so 
many varieties of honey-producing plants and trees that space will 
not permit of a description or even the mention of all of them. 
Some of the most prominent are the black, white, and purple 
sages. [We claim that the black, or button sage, as it is some- 
times called, makes the finest honey in the world.] Wild buck- 
wheat, wild and cultivated alfalfa, also some of the immense bean 
fields, furnish many tons of white honey for our bees. There are 
so many varieties of honey-producing shrubs that the ordinary bee 
man simply says of a certain one when he sees it, "Yes, that is all 
right, my bees work it," and never thinks of trying to find out the 
names of all of them. 

Among the trees the orange and eucalyptus are most valued, but 
the greater portion of plants and trees in this part of the country 
have some kind of a flower and the bees will work them according 
to their value compared to other flowers out at the same time. The 
black sage not only produces the best honey, but under favorable 
circumstances the flow is so heavy that bees will not touch any- 
thing else while it is at its height. I have seen an apiary of three 
hundred stands, in ten-frame Langstroth hives, fill every avail- 
able space in four days and cap it solid. This shows how heavy- 
bodied it was when gathered, for ordinary honey has to stand in 
the combs a number of days Ijefore it is ripe enough to cap. This 
same honey was so white that you could not, while standing off a 



THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 145 

few feet, tell the difference between a tumbler full of it and another 
of water. We have kept it for four years in a Mason jar without 
sealing, and it did not granulate. When California has a really 
large crop, that is the kind of honey that perhaps one half of it 
will be, while the rest will either come from other flowers or be 
mixed with them enough to make a decided change in color and 
flavor. 

We roughly estimate that California can produce five hundred 
cars of fifteen tons each in a good season. This was done years 
ago, while we now have more bee-keepers and better ones, more bees 
and better facilities for handling them; and yet I prophesy that 
in a few years we will look back and see how small we were at this 
time; for there are unlimited acres of mountainous territory in 
this great State covered with a jungle of tangled shrubbery (that 
can only be penetrated by the smaller animals) that breaks out 
into a profusion, of bloom that is enough to gladden the heart of 
any lover of nature in its wild and unfrequented state ; while it 
will certainly not only put the bees within its reach, but the bee- 
keepers themselves, to swarming. 

My friends, the Eastern bee-keepers, if you are tired of chaff 
hives, or cellar wintering, or shoveling snow to get a path to the 
road— of working six months to prepare a living chance for the 
winter — follow the path and advice of thousands of others and 
come to a climate where bees have been known to swarm every 
month in the year; where the roses bloom in the winter and the 
children run barefooted all the year round. There is plenty of 
room for more, even if we are the largest producers of honey in the 
Union, and the chances are better now than ever before, for we have 
the California National Honey-Producers' Association to buy our 
supplies at the cheapest, sell our honey on a favorable market, and 
protect our interests at large. 



THE BEET^SUGAR INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



By JAMES M. TAYLOR, 
Manager Spreckels Sugar Company, Spreckels, Cal. 



About the middle of the last century, fresh from a careful study 
of the conditions contributing to the successful gro^vth of the beet- 
sugar industrj^ in continental Europe, David L. Child, of Con- 
necticut, made the first commercial attempt in the United States 
to manufacture sugar from the beet root. His efforts were met 
with a measure of success, and obtained for him a silver medal 
from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, which 
pronounced his product as "well made, dry and of good grain," 
and "equal to sugar obtained from cane." 

From this small beginning an industry has arisen Avhich ranks 

10 



146 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

in importance with the great industries of the day. This initial 
undertaking quickly took hold upon the public mind, and resulted 
in efforts conducted on broader lines, until we now have fifty- 
three operating beet-sugar factories, located in different states of 
the Union, with a capacity for working 42,000 tons of beets and 
producing approximately 5,000 tons of sugar per day, and which 
actually produced 233,100 tons of sugar during the season of 1903. 

The beet-sugar industry of this country owes its immediate suc- 
cess to the pioneer effort of 1888, when Glaus Spreckels built the 
plant at Watsonville, California. Nor was it alone the factory, 
built and equipped to the last degree in conformity with the best 
methods followed in Europe, that made possible the success of the 
venture. Our soil and sunshine, our cool nights and warm days, 
our assurance of rain when needed, and of no rain when not 
needed; in a word, those great fundamental requirements, par- 
ticularly in this branch of industry, became at once the potential 
contributors to its success. 

The Pajaro valley, in which this first large success in the manu- 
facture of beet sugar was achieved, represents a small section of 
country in the counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey. It is open 
to the bay of Monterey on the west, from which it derives the 
greatest benefits from the heavy summer fogs, supplementing an 
assured winter rainfall, and is otherwise inclosed by a low range 
of hills, and comprises in the aggregate less than 65,000 acres, 
with about 6,000 acres of fine sedimentary soil, which has grad- 
ually been planted to beets. The surrounding valleys early took 
on the spirit of the new industry, and while the factory w^as 
operated, contributed to its success. But more than all, it estab- 
lished the farmer on a new line of husbandry, which has proven 
far more profitable than any of the other crops adapted to our soil 
and climate. 

The success achieved here awakened an interest in other dis- 
tricts, even to the extreme southerly portion of the State, and all 
efforts to this one end have only served to confirm the opinions of 
soil experts, that the fundamental requirements for the successful 
raising of the beet root have been lavishly provided in California 
by generous Mother Nature. Except in the interior valleys, where 
the heat of summer has proven too great for the tender young 
plant, it may be stated that nearly every locality influenced by 
the sea breezes to check too rapid growth, and having the proper 
quality of soil, is adapted to the growth of the sugar beet. This 
is abundantly proven in the development of the industry in this 
State. 

Following the venture at Watsonville, the Alameda Sugar 
Company, having a plant of a daily capacity for working several 
hundred tons of beets, reorganized and rebuilt on a larger scale 
its factory located at Alvarado, in Alameda county, also near to 
tide water, and influenced also by the same general climatic con- 
ditions as are to be found in the Pajaro valley, which was followed 
closely in the order of construction by several other plants, as 



THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA. 



147 



will be noted by the following list : In 1891 at Chino, having a 
capacity of 750 tons of beets per day ; in 1898 at Oxnard, with a 
capacity of 2,000 tons per day ; [both of these plants belong to the 
American Beet Sugar Company and are located in districts having 
great natural advantages of soil and climate, generally yielding 
satisfactory returns in the operating season;] in 1897 at Los 
Alamitos, having a capacity of 700 tons per day, and owned by 
United States Senator W. A. Clark ; in 1899 at Betteravia, having 
a capacity of 500 tons per day, and owned by the Union Sugar 
Company. 

The plant first in order as to capacity, and which sheds such 
renowTi on the name, was constructed in 1897, in the lower end of 
the Salinas valley, near Salinas, the county seat of Monterey 




SUGAK-BEET FIELD AND FACTORY, SALINAS. 

county, by Claus Spreckels, under the corporate name of Spreckels 
Sugar Company. It was not intended in this article to indulge 
in remarks having a specific reference to the efforts of any one 
of the several successfully conducted plants of this State, but it 
is impossible to convey an adequate idea of the industry except 
by individualizing to some extent, and the indulgence of the 
reader is asked that a better understanding may be arrived at. 

The plant of the Spreckels Sugar Company, which is the largest 
in the world with one exception, and that one in Belgium, was 
intended to meet all the necessities for both the present and the 
future of the entire section of the State where it is located ; hence 
was built to operate by units, thus meeting the varying agricul- 
tural conditions of the section from year to year. Its capacity 



148 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

may be increased, at a very moderate cost, to 4,000 tons of beets 
per day. To perform this great task the most elaborate prepara- 
tions have been made to insure the company from loss during the 
period of operation, by the installation in duplicate of practically 
all the machinery of the entire plant. The necessity of this will 
readily be understood when it is realized that the sugar beet has 
practically no keeping qualities, but is rendered unfit for milling 
in from ten to fifteen days after harvesting if allowed to lie 
exposed to the sun and weather. 

To supply this factory with the necessary quantity of beets to 
keep it in continuous operation during what is known as the 
"campaign" requires the product of from 25,000 to 30,000 acres 
of land, furnishing employment in the work of producing the 
crop alone to from 2,500 to 4,000 men. 

Experience has proven that the preparation of the soil for the 
successful cultivation of the beet root, while requiring special 
care in reducing the ground to proper tilth, not only improves 
the conditions bearing on the ultimate success of the crop in ques- 
tion, but in rotation with beans, potatoes, or even grain, there is 
a large gain to each crop. This demonstrates that the most care- 
ful preparation of the soil is a prerequisite of success, a funda- 
mental requirement in order to insure the largest returns. In 
support of this it need only be said that it is probably within the 
range of experience and observation of the management of every 
beet-sugar factory in our country that many farmers obtain only 
six or eight tons of beets per acre, as against others realizing a 
crop of from fifteen to twenty tons per acre, when the soil and 
climatic conditions appear to be identical; the cause for the 
difference in the yield being largely, if not entirely, due to the 
degree of attention given to the proper preparation of the soil for 
seeding. 

The conditions to be met with in our State, governing the move- 
ments of the farmer, are also large factors bearing on the ultimate 
success of the beet crop. Situated as we are, climatically, we are 
reasonably certain of enough moisture in the soil from precipita- 
tion during the months of November to March inclusive to insure 
a good crop. To meet those conditions which are likewise found 
in all sections in the West where the cultivation of the beet root 
is successfully carried on, irrigation is resorted to— however, in a 
supplemental way— in order to insure the meeting of the moisture 
in the soil, which in California has been found not only of great 
value, but of prime importance, for the proper growth and devel- 
opment of the beet ; and it may be stated as a recognized principle, 
that the sugar industry of this State must ultimately be conducted 
in localities and along lines where winter irrigation in the prep- 
aration of the soil for the next following crop must be followed. 

The cultivation of the sugar beet as an industry in contradis- 
tinction to the beet-sugar industry— the one pertaining to and 
interesting primarily the farmer, while the other, being especially 



COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 149 

the work of the company which has invested its money in a 
factory— becomes at once a field of fine i)ossibility in the realiza- 
tion of hopes for profitable husbandry. The State affords many 
opportunities for that class of men engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits who realize that he wins "who waits and watches, and who 
always works." 

The cordial cooperation between the management and the 
grower or beet farmer is another point wherein the farmer and 
the factory alike realize their highest expectations. Their inter- 
ests are mutual, their efforts should be identical, the sentiment 
of accord and fraternal exchange of views, opinions and experi- 
ences contribute alike to the success of each, and it may be stated 
as a necessary corollary that on the success of the farmer depends 
to a large degree the success of the factory operations. 

The industry both as to the interest of the farmer and as to 
that of the manufacturers has been so firmly grounded that all 
doubt as to the future has disappeared, and this alone ott'ers an 
unusual inducement to those from other states, who, in looking- 
for a field of profitable farming, can not fail in their efforts for 
success if a right selection of land is made in any of the districts 
now engaging the attention of beet-sugar manufacturers. It must 
be borne in mind, however, that the closest study of the condi- 
tions is necessary, and then the application of thought and intelli- 
gent labor, to make their efforts a success. To all such California 
offers fine inducements, and all would be welcomed. 



COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS 
OF CALIFORNIA. 



By JAMES D. PHELAN. 



California has more than seven hundred miles of seacoast, and, 
with Washington and Oregon, represents, in a broad sense, the 
United States upon the greatest of the world's oceans. Surpris- 
ing developments during the last few years have turned the eyes 
of the people from the land to the sea, and now the influence of 
the United States is speeding its way across an ocean which, like 
the Rocky mountains sixty years ago, was regarded as a barrier 
beyond which the activities of the republic would not go. In 
fact, Daniel Webster opposed the admission of California as a 
state as late as 1850 on the ground of its remoteness and inacces- 
sibility, and Seward, the expansionist, answered him that, if it 
were not admitted, it was capable of becoming and would become 
an independent empire. Subsequently, Webster admitted his mis- 
take and said he would rather own a town lot in San Francisco 
than a farm in Massachusetts. 



150 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

The western movement was, however, irrepressible, and the 
romance of the situation seems to be that it was foreordained and 
that statesmen and soldiers are merely the unconscious instru- 
ments to carry out the predestined course of civilization. Be- 
ginning in Asia IMinor, civilization has constantly moved west- 
ward, first to Egypt, to Greece, to Italy and to Spain, covering 
the Mediterranean with ships and enriching every land with com- 
merce ; then it passed on to France and Germany, Great Britain 
and Ireland, crossed the Atlantic, penetrated the forests and the 
prairies, and finally reached the Pacific Ocean, and the twentieth 
century should see the orbit completed. The same civilizing 
power will ultimately embrace Japan and all Asia. As the 
Atlantic superseded the Mediterranean, so the Pacific is fast tak- 
ing the place of the Atlantic, and the shores it serves are far more 
populous. 

William H. Seward, possessed of the keen vision which led him 
to acquire Alaska in 1867, predicted this marvelous change. He 
wrote : ' ' Henceforth, European commerce, European politics, 
European thought, European activity, although actually gaining 
force, and European connections, although actually becoming more 
intimate, will nevertheless relatively sink in importance, while the 
Pacific Ocean, its shores, its islands and the vast regions beyond 
will become the chief theater of events in the world's great 
hereafter." 

Nearly two thirds of the population of the earth live in the 
lands washed by the Pacific. The growing foreign trade of Asia 
alone is valued at two billion dollars annually, and this is the trade 
for which the nations of the world are struggling. The com- 
mercial supremacy of the Pacific is the engrossing question of the 
new century. 

China contains within its vast area gold, silver, coal and rich 
agricultural lands awaiting intelligent industiy for their develop- 
ment. Russia has pierced the continent with its trans-Siberian 
railroad and created, as in a night, cities and entrepots. Japan 
has already shown every evidence of its willingness and capacity 
to rank in enterprise and accomplishment with the other civilized 
powers. The Hawaiian and the Philippine islands have awakened 
from their dream of ages, and are making abundant contribution 
to the world's trade. The mines of Alaska are yielding up the 
treasures so long hidden from the sight of man, and the growth 
at our own Pacific coast has taken its place, in the variety and 
volume of its mineral, agricultural and horticultural productive- 
ness, among the wonderful events of the closing days of the nine- 
teenth century. And now, with the beginning of the new century, 
the United States has taken up the world work, at which others 
have failed— the building of tlie Panama canal; and it has the 
money and the men with which to complete it within eight or ten 
years' time. From these facts, it will appear that the commerce 
and the commercial relations of California constitute a subject of 
increased interest, and that this fair country, with the most pro- 



COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 



151 



ductive of nations behind it and the greatest of oceans before it, is 
destined to become the center of a mighty empire in all that con- 
stitutes commerce and trade and in all that makes for science and 
art. 

The beginnings of commerce in California were very primitive. 
The Spanish navigators, lured by stories of fabulous wealth, sailed 
up the coast from Mexico, but found little or nothing to justify 
their ventures. Later, Sir Francis Drake visited the Californian 
coast and beached his "Goulden Hinde" for repairs just outside 
the Golden Gate, of which he had no knowledge; nor did he dis- 
cover San Francisco bay, which was reserved for subsequent dis- 
covery, nearly two hundred years later, by the Spanish missionaries 




BOUND FOE THE ORIENT. 



from the land. Cabrillo discovered the Californian coast in 1542. 
Drake anchored off the coast in 1579, and Portala and party beheld 
San Francisco bay in 1769. 

The next interesting record was Richard H. Dana's "Two Years 
Before the Mast," wherein he describes the trade in hides and 
tallow between San Francisco and Boston. Then, in 1848, followed 
the discovery of gold, which brought a brilliant company of 
adventurous men to California, who laid the foundation for the 
State. Mining and subsequently agriculture and horticulture 
prospered side by side, and in 1867 the Central Pacific Railroad 
divided the business of transportation with the steamers which by 
the Panama route had served this coast, and the sailing vessels 
which rounded the ' ' Horn ' ' had begun to carry to Europe cargoes 



152 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

of California wheat, a cereal ranking in the markets of the world 
as of first quality. The banner year for wheat exportation was 
1882, when 22,279,000 centals, valued at $36,000,000, were shipped. 

The discovery of gold in the Klondike, the acquisition of Hawaii 
and the Philippines, and the stirring events on the Asiatic coast 
opened the sea to the trade and commerce of California, and fleets 
of ocean steamers have been commissioned to meet the demands of 
the growing trade. The Government maintains a transport 
service, and fine steamers regularly come and go on Government 
business between San Francisco and Honolulu, Guam and Manila. 
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company has six steamers for the 
Oriental service. The Toya Kisen Kaisha, a Japanese line, has 
three modern vessels, at this w^riting temporarily withdra\\Tn on 
account of the war. The Occidental and Oriental Steamship 
Company has three steamships regularly on the route. These 
ships run to Tahiti and the other islands of the Pacific ; and the 
Oceanic Steamship Company maintains service between this 
country and Hawaii and Australia. The Kosmos line of steamers, 
gives monthly service to Europe via South and Central American 
ports, and the Pacific Coast Steamship Company serves the 
Pacific seaboard. The new steamers are of the fastest type, and 
the latest, the Korea and the Siberia of the Pacific Mail, each 
measures 572 feet in length, and the Mongolia and ]\Ianehuria 
measure 600 feet in length. These steamers can make the trip 
across the Pacific from San Francisco to Yokohama, 4,720 miles, in 
ten days ; and from Yokohama to Hong Kong, 1,620 miles, in three 
and one-half days; and to Manila, 642 miles farther, requires 
another day and a half. 

While many of these steamers have been built in the East, 
owing among other reasons to the crowded condition of San 
Francisco yards, it may be stated incidentally that shipbuilding 
in California is a prominent and growing industry, and many 
large ocean-going steamers have been constructed for commercial 
service during recent years ; but the triumph of the shipbuilding 
art may be found in the formidable fleet given to the sea by the 
Union Iron Works of San Francisco in the cruisers, gunboats and 
battleships, many of which are known to fame, such as the 
Charleston, San Francisco, Monterey, Olympia, JMarietta. AVheel- 
ing, Farragut, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Perry, Preble, Paul Jones, 
Grampus, Tacoma, Pike, Ohio, California, and above all, the 
matchless Oregon, which made the race from Puget sound, around 
the Horn, in the face of the enemy, and arrived before Santiago 
ready to engage in the action of July 4, 1898. The Chitose, a 
Japanese cruiser recently mentioned for brilliant service in the 
Japanese war, is also a product of this yard. Besides these, 
sailing vessels have been built, averaging about twenty a year 
since 1887; and steam vessels averaging more than that per 
year during the same period have been constructed in San 
Francisco bay. 

On the Atlantic seaboard there are numerous harbors, but on 



COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 153 

the Pacific littoral there are practically only five or six harbors 
adapted to the requirements for large shipping operations, 
namely, San Francisco, San Diego, San Pedro and Eureka, in 
California, and the Columbia river and Puget sound. San Fran- 
cisco bay, of course, is the principal one. It is the most spacious 
and best protected harbor on the coast, and its central position 
makes it most advantageous for coastwise and Oriental trade. 
It is thoroughly well fortified by modern guns and is equipped 
with two dry-docks, privately owned, one having a capacity for 
the largest vessels afloat; and two stone dry-docks, belonging to 
the Government, are located at Mare Island Navy Yard in San 
Francisco bay, and there are besides floating docks, well adapted 
to sailing vessels and smaller craft. Ships can anchor safely in 
almost any part of the 460 square miles constituting the bay of 
San Francisco. 

San Diego harbor is also landlocked and is well adapted for 
ocean commerce. The bay is 13 miles long and has an area of 
22 square miles, with an available anchorage of 6 square miles. 
The Government is now dredging the harbor to a depth of 30 feet 
and extending a jetty to 7,500 feet. The Pacific Coast Steamship 
Company's steamers touch at San Diego, and lumber craft and 
colliers ply between this and other ports. Steamers of the Kosmos 
line and of the Hawaiian-American line visit this harbor. The 
value of imports for eleven months ending November 30, 1903, 
amounted to $459,856, with an export value of $311,924. The 
amount of duty collected during the same time was $63,704. The 
principal articles imported were cement, coal, Mexican onyx, 
cattle, guano, copper ore and pig iron. Total tonnage for the 
year, 260 steam vessels (238,566 tons), and 115 sailing vessels 
(38,909 tons). 

The Government is now enlarging the natural harbor of San 
Pedro by constructing a great breakwater. This is the port of 
Los Angeles. Los Angeles also has the harbors of Santa Monica 
and Redondo. 

Eureka is the shipping point for the lumber of Northern Cali- 
fornia. Its shipyards build $2,000,000 worth of ocean tonnage 
each year. As an example, Humboldt county shipped in shingles 
697,533,000 and in shakes 17,939,000, and of nearly a million 
dollars in value, or over 34,000,000 feet of redwood lumber was 
shipped from the same port in 1903. Vessels sailing from Eureka 
to all foreign ports for that year showed that in forty cargoes 
there was a net tonnage of 36,000, carrying total board feet of 
21,201,000. 

In this connection it may be interesting to state that the total 
lumber product of California for 1903 is estimated at 792,000,000 
feet. The arrivals of pine, spruce and fir at the port of San Fran- 
cisco for 1903 amounted to 366,653,000 feet. 

But the shipping statistics of the port of San Francisco are 
necessarily more typical of California than the shipping from 
minor ports. In a representative year, 1902, the clearances from 



154 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

San Francisco by sea showed: Flour, 1,188,884 pounds; wheat, 
8,237,782 centals; besides oats, corn and rye among the cereals. 
The receipts for the same year were : Flour, 6,974,000 qr. sacks ; 
wheat, 9,120,000 centals; barley, 5,943,000 centals; besides oats, 
corn, rye, beans, potatoes and other products. 

Over one million barrels of flour passed out through the Golden 
Gate during 1903, and in return therefor over $4,000,000 was 
realized. Wheat and barley exports from San Francisco during 
1903 are in excess of $7,500,000. The total value of dairy prod- 
ucts for the year is estimated at $16,000,000. The value of the 
manufactures of San Francisco in 1903 was $150,000,000. A 
brief summary of California products will show the articles 
which may be exchanged in the markets of the world. 

In 1902, the mineral production represented a total value of 
$35,069,000. Almost every mineral was represented, and more 
particularly, and in the order named, gold, petroleum, copper, 
borax, quicksilver, brick clay, silver, lime, macadam, asbestos, 
granite, sandstone, slate, etc. 

The crop of sugar beets for 1903, estimated at 620,000 tons, 
yielded 77,000 tons of sugar; hops, 47,000 bales, or 9,310,000 
pounds. Wool products amounted to 22,000,000 pounds; honey, 
3,650,000 pounds. In the year 1902, 19,180 carloads of citrus 
fruits were shipped, equal to 6,904,000 pounds. The California 
raisin crop for 1902 was 108,000,000 pounds; of prunes, 115,- 
000,000 pounds; and other dried fruits were as follows: peaches, 
50,000,000 pounds; apricots, 37,000,000 pounds; apples, 9,000,000 
pounds, and so on as to pears, plums, nectarines, grapes and figs. 
In 1902 there were 7,141 cars of fresh and deciduous fruits 
shipped out of the State. All the shippers have agreed in main- 
taining a distributing agency at Sacramento, whence the cars 
are shipped by a manager according to the demands of outside 
markets. By this means the glutting of the markets has been 
prevented and more satisfactory returns made to shippers. 

Canned fruits to the extent of 2,600,000 cases were shipped in 
1903. Each case contains a dozen 2VM-pound cans. Almonds and 
walnuts, respectively, of 6,000,000 and 11,000.000 pounds, were 
produced, and of the great wine industry, 22,000,000 gallons of 
dry wines, 10,000,000 gallons of sweet wines, and 5,700,000 gallons 
of brandy is the record. The following is a summary of San Fran- 
cisco's trade by sea during 1903: 

EXPORTS. 

To foreign countries $31,772,113 

To Hawaii 19'!^i?'55'1 

To Alaska 2,934,026 

To Tutuila (Samoa) VAi^ 

To Guam ^h%9. 

To Midway Island oiS'i'o- 

Foreign merchandise in transit o n'i^n 

To Atlantic States 5,308,252 

Total value all exports .$51,552,249 

Shipments on United States transports 1,440,000 

Total value, including transport shipments $52,992,249 



COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 155 

Shipments on United States transports are not filed at the 

custom house. The Government shipments on chartered vessels 

are, however, manifested the same as if shipped by private 

parties. 

IMPORTS. 

From foreign countries $32,651,650 

From Atlantic States 3,870,537 

Value of all imports by sea $36,522,187 

The above does not include coastwise trade or imports from 
non-contiguous territory of the United States. Also, the above 
item from Atlantic States means merchandise from foreign coun- 
tries landed at other ports and sent by rail to San Francisco. 

In addition, there was imported $13,975,000 of treasure. 

Summary of San Francisco's trade by sea during 1903 (exclu- 
sive of transport freight, unknown quantity, and treasure, 
$3,680,000) : 

Exports - $51,552,249 

Imports 36,522,187 

Total volume of merchandise traffic $88,074,430 

There are no available figures showing merchandise imports 
and exports by rail, but it is variously estimated at from $120,- 
000,000 to $140,000,000 per year for the State. 

The customs receipts at the port of San Francisco for the year 
amounted to $7,850,705. This would have been nearly $9,000,000 
were it not for the fact that the 67 cents per ton duty on coal had 
been removed for the year (but is now restored) and the 60 cents 
duty taken off tea. Coal has now to compete with the native fuel, 
petroleum oil, of which in California there was, in 1903, an out- 
put of 23,602,000 barrels. 

The imports consist principally of teas, coffees and spices, rice, 
iron and iron products, cement, coal, silks, Chinese and Japanese 
wares, opium, hemp, jute, sugar and spirits. Of the total value 
of imports the following items are the largest : Raw silk, $11,631,- 
000 ; manufactured silk, $552,000 ; coffee, $2,962,000; tea, $999,000; 
tin, $735,000; bituminous coal, $2,526,000; manufactured fibers, 
$2,253,000; opium, $1,139,000; cement, $486,000; manufactured 
cotton, $410,000; earthenware, $342,000; hides, $433,000; spirits, 
wine and malt, $998,000. 

San Francisco ranks after New York, Boston and Philadelphia 
in custom-house receipts. 

Referring to the general field, the grooving trade of California 
on the Pacific has been greatly stimulated by the laying of the 
Pacific cable, in 1903, from San Francisco to the Hawaiian 
Islands, and thence to Wake Island, Guam and the Philippines, 
about 6,700 miles in length. As a consequence, during the last 
few months San Francisco has become the center and distributing 
point of war news from the Orient, taking the place which London 
formerly enjoyed in this respect. There is also a new cable from 



156 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Vancouver via Fanning, Fiji, Norfolk Islands to Auckland, New- 
Zealand, and Brisbane, Australia. 

But the event which will revolutionize the Pacific trade, and 
which will confer an additional benefit upon California, is the 
certain construction of the Panama canal. The United States has, 
at length, undertaken the work, provided the means and appointed 
a commission, which expects to complete the great enterprise 
within ten years. Students of commercial geography have for 
four centuries fully comprehended the importance of an isthmian 
canal to the commerce of the world. During all this time various 
contentions have prevented the beginning of the work, but now, 
at last, its accomplishment seems certain. It is the opinion of 
careful observers that it will give commercial primacy in the 
Pacific Ocean to the United States, and as California, with San 
Francisco as its entrepot, holds a unique position, the benefits 
that will accrue to the United States will be felt in every section 
of this State. It will stimulate industry by giving a wide field 
to the products of mine, field and shop. In other words, the 
awakening of the Pacific can not but redound to the benefit of 
California. The Pacific Coast will have closer commercial rela- 
tions with Europe, whence it can receive a desirable population 
and find a market for its products. It will reduce the cost to 
California of all its imports and increase the value of all its 
exports by cheapening transportation; and it will make San 
Francisco and San Diego, for this reason, great distributing 
centers. 

The people of California are fully alive to the importance of 
their position, and will be equal to the opportunities which the 
changed conditions will present. In the University of California 
there has been established a college of commerce to train the young 
men of the State in the methods of basiness and to impart a 
knowledge of the productions and needs and the commerce of 
other lands. 

The Pacific Connnercial Museum, patterned after the excellent 
institution in Philadelphia, has been founded in San Francisco, 
where our merchants keep in touch with the commerce of the world, 
studying the needs of foreign places for the purpose of supplying 
them. The Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, as its name 
implies, looks particularly after the commercial interests of the 
port, receives distinguished visitors, acts upon all measures of 
interest to the mercantile world, and maintains an agent in Wash- 
ington to promote favorable legislation. The Merchants' Exchange, 
which has just erected a monumental building, cares particularly 
for the .shipping of the port; and the State and City Boards of 
Trade, Manufacturers and Producers' Association, the Merchants' 
Association, and the California Promotion Committee are organ- 
ized for the purpose of advancing the interests of the city and 
State, not only on commercial lines, but in matters of immigration, 
production and civics. 

It is, therefore, safe to conclude that endowed as California has 



MANUFACTURES OF CALIFORNIA. 157 

been so richly by Nature and favored so signally by her peculiar 
position upon the Pacific, her citizens have not been backward to 
assume the responsibilities and to wield the power which has been 
put into their hands, to the end that the commercial interests of 
their country and their State may be fostered, promoted and 
advanced. 

The poet Byron beautifully describes Venice at the height of her 
maritime supremacy, and the same language may be used of San 
Francisco, the chief port of California, now that the sceptre has 
passed from the Mediterranean to the Pacific: 

"She looks a sea Cybele, fresh from ocean, 
Rising with her tiara of proud towers 
At airy distance, with majestic motion, 
A ruler of the waters and their powers : 
And such she was ; — her daughters had their dowers 
From spoils of nations, and the exhaustless East 
Pour'd in her lap all gems in sparkling showers. 
In purple was she robed, and of her feast 
Monarchs partook, and deem'd their dignity increased." 



MANUFACTURES OF CALIFORNIA. 



By CHARLES E. BANCROFT, 

Secretary of Manufacturers and Producers' Association of California. 



The productive resources of a locality having generally a con- 
trolling influence upon the occupations and prosperity of its people, 
so the native wealth of California in minerals and in forests and 
other natural resources and the productive capabilities, under 
cultivation, of its soil and climate, have largely governed the 
industrial history of the State, including the growth of its manu- 
factures. Broadly stated, these natural and cultivated products 
cover the following wide range: Gold, silver, copper, petroleum, 
building-stones, borax, salt, soda, slate, clay and other minerals; 
redwood lumber, white pine, sugar pine and other forestry prod- 
ucts ; wheat, barley and other cereals ; pasturage, hay ; nearly every 
cultivated variety of fruits and vegetables known in the world, 
excepting some of those of the extreme tropics, but including 
deciduous, citrus and other semi-tropical fruits, grapes, nuts, 
olives, etc.; livestock; dairy products; poultry; fisheries, etc. 

With a brief territorial existence followed by admission to state- 
hood in 1850, its people chiefly engaged in mining during the ten 
years following; isolated in large measure from the rest of the 
world until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 
1869, and dependent for coal supply mainly upon importation 
from Great Britain, Australia, Oregon and Washington at a cost 
of $7 or $8 per ton, California has plainly rested under disad- 



158 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

vantages in respect to manufacturing. Great achievement in that 
class of industry might not, therefore, be expected, and yet it is to 
be seen by the United States Census Report for 1900 that Cali- 
fornia ranked in that year next to Connecticut in value of manu- 
factured products, or twelfth in the list of the states, the value of 
these products of the State being placed at nearly $303,000,000, a 
gain of fifty per cent since 1890. This value is about two and 
one-half times that of the manufactured products of Maine, Lou- 
isiana or Texas. But the most important growth of these indus- 
tries in California has occurred since the figures of the Twelfth 
Census were prepared, the obvious causes being found in increas- 
ing population and in the general development of all its resources 
and markets which is now irresistibly proceeding. Among these 
developments, and occurring most opportunely to meet the needs 
of manufacturing, is the complete solution of the question of 
power, principally through the discovery and the production of 
petroleum in vast quantities, and through the utilization of water 
power in the creation of electrical energy on a scale, and with 
audacity in long-distance transmission, not paralleled elsewhere in 
the world. 

The output of crude petroleum in 1903 reached approximately 
23,000,000 barrels, an increase over 1902 of about 11,000,000 bar- 
rels, and there is every indication of an annually increased yield. 
This present production amounts to 151/2 barrels of 42 gallons each 
for every inhabitant of the State. Three and one-half barrels are 
equivalent to one ton of coal. The commercial production of 
petroleum at the present time extends over an area of about one 
half the length of the State, with good existing facilities for its 
transportation by water, rail and pipe-line to non-producing 
localities. 

Activity in the development of electric power from the use of 
water has continued until the various plants of the State, with 
2,200 miles of transmission circuit, have a total voltage of about 
145,000 horsepower, while the present voltage of such plants in all 
the remainder of the United States, with 1,200 miles of transmis- 
sion circuit, amounts to about 215,000 horsepower. The possible 
future supply, in nearly all parts of California, of electric power 
generated by water is practically without limit. 

It is, moreover, to be said that, adjacent to the tide waters of 
San Francisco bay, an excellent steam coal is now available in large 
quantity and is being mined and sold at a price lower than offered 
at any previous time. Native California coal is also utilized in the 
manufacture of prepared fuel, as in the case of "briquettes." An 
extensive plant is about to begin operations in the making of 
"carbonets," the method of this manufacture being entirely new. 
It granulates, but does not powder the coal; shapes, but does not 
employ heavy pressure. In the opinion of experts it is likely to 
form a turning point in the manufacture of artificial fuel. The 
product is likened in its action as a fuel to a hard bituminous 
coal, the blocks splitting open and forming a coke, the gases being 
released only as fast as the fire will consume them, so furnishing 



MANUFACTURES OP CALIFORNIA. 159 

a smokeless coal suitable for all purposes where anthracite coal is 
now thought to be indispensable. 

Thus California possesses and is commercially utilizing abun- 
dant sources of cheap power both for transportation and for manu- 
facturing of all classes, and is fully assured of this advantage for 
the future. 

Among leading manufacturing industries of the State in 1900 
may be mentioned sugar and molasses refining, slaughtering, lum- 
ber and timber productions (including those of planing mills), 
flouring and grist mill products, fruit and vegetable canning and 
preserving, foundry and machine shop products, clothing, dairy 
products, explosives and ammunition, leather, wines, brandies and 
malt liquors, and printing and publishing. 

Mining made early demand for machinery and appliances 
required in that industry, progressing from the cruder methods of 
placer mining, with only the simplest mechanical means, to mining 
in all its branches, aided by the employment of machinery of the 
highest usefulness and efficiency, which has been largely originated 
in the State and turned out by its shops. This includes stamp 
mills, hydraulic mining machinery, air compressors, rock drills; 
amalgamating, concentrating, pumping, smelting and dredging 
machinery ; boilers, engines, etc. Other foundry and machine shop 
products include traction engines, brass manufactures, which are 
among the oldest of the State ; well-boring appliances, gas engines, 
heating, ventilating and refrigerating apparatus, stoves and 
ranges, waterwheels and motors, and other machinery of all kinds. 
Shipbuilding in iron and steel, as well as wood, has become within 
the past twenty years one of the large manufacturing industries of 
the State. 

In agriculture, there being found conditions of soil and climate 
differing in important respects from those under which agricul- 
tural and horticultural operations were conducted elsewhere, as 
well as a greater variety of conditions and opportunity for a 
greater diversity of crops, the farmer of this State soon sought 
implements and machinery better adapted to his needs than those 
commonly in use. The demand has been met by our manufac- 
turers in such manner, by improvement upon former models, in 
material used and in workmanship, and by invention of appliances 
and machinery, that it may fairly be stated that the various kinds 
of implements and machinery made here furnish the greatest 
efficiency and economy in the uses for which they are designed and 
are of unusual strength and durability. To these facts may be 
attributed a good share of the success obtained in the groAving and 
harvesting of our great variety of agricultural products. Included 
in the manufactures of this class are plows, harrows, cultivators, 
grain-headers, threshers; the great combined harvesting machines, 
which cut, thresh and deposit the sacked grain by one operation; 
grain and seed drills and sowers, hay forks, rakes and stackers, etc. 
As of interest in connection with the development of the fruit 
industry is to be noted the manufacture of irrigating machinery, 
cans, fruit jars and cannery appliances, fruit graders, presses. 



160 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

processors, evaporators, picking appliances, hoppers, trays, special 
plows and cultivators for orchards and vineyards, fruit-tree 
sprayers, and other appliances, many of which are of original 
device and manufacture in this State and materially aid in the 
planting, growing, harvesting and marketing of fruit. 

Among other manufactures are bags for grain, fruit, etc., bel- 
lows, belting and hose, bolts, nuts and screws, boots and shoe^, 
terra cotta and other clay products such as sewer and water pipe, 
etc., candles, chemicals, confectionery, cooperage, cordage (one of 
the old and important manufactures of the State), cotton manu- 
factures, elevators, fireworks, furniture, gas and electric-light 
fixtures, glass (bottles, fruit jars, window glass, art glass, etc.), 
gloves, harness, hats and caps, incubators (recognized and in 
demand all over the world for their high order of efficiency), jute 
manufactures, lead manufactures, mantels, metals, mill and cabi- 
net work, organs and other musical instruments, paints and var- 
nishes, perfumery, petroleum refining (including asphalt and 
refined oils), pharmaceutical preparations, Portland cement, roof- 
ing materials, rubber goods, safes and vaults, sheet metal work, 
scientific instruments, silk thread manufactures, smelting and 
refining, soap, starch, tanks, typefounding, trunks and valises, 
wagons and carriages, wirework (including wire rope and cables, 
fencing, netting, specialties, etc.), and Avoolen manufactures 
(including the famous California blankets). 

The conspicuous importance of California as a food-producing 
state is not to be lost sight of. It is safe to say that the State is 
to become one of the principal sources of food supply for the 
world in its production of cereals, by reason of the many forms in 
which its fruits and vegetables are and may be cured or other- 
wise preserved, in its leading position in the production of pure 
wines of the best types and in rapidl}^ increasing quantity, in the 
fishery products which its own waters yield and which come to it 
from the great salmon and cod fisheries of the north, in its dairy 
and other livestock and poultrj'^ products, and in its manufactures 
of baking powders, biscuits, chocolate and cocoa, fiavoring ex- 
tracts, olive oil, soda, starch, sugar, syrup, etc. 

With conservatism of statement, the advantages and oppor- 
tunities for manufacturing which California presents may there- 
fore be summarized as follows : A climate conducive to health, 
to enjoyment of life and to the fullest measure of the product of 
labor owing to the absence of extremes in heat and cold ; great 
areas of tillable land richly productive in raw material ; exten- 
sive forests of redwood, white pine, sugar pine and other woods ; 
inexhaustible deposits of iron ore awaiting only the discovery of 
methods of smelting through the use of petroleum or perhaps of 
electricity, and great variety of other minerals; motive power 
limitless in supply and low in cost, and the prospective widening 
of markets through the extension of the railroads of the continent, 
through the further opening of trade with Pacific Ocean countries 
and through the building of the Panama canal— these improving 



BANKS AND BANKING. 161 

transportation facilities bringing to us also the raw materials of 
many lands to feed our factories, a present instance of which 
may incidentally be cited in our importation of hides which are 
here tanned through the medium of California oak tanbark, the 
best tanning agent obtained in the United States without cultiva- 
tion, and to the good qualities of which is partly to be attributed 
the established superiority of California leather. 



BANKS AND BANKING. 



By J. K. LYNCH, 

President of the California Bankers' Association. 



The history of banking in California gives in a brief fifty years 
an epitome of the evolution of banking throughout the world. 
Unlike most frontier communities, California had from the begin- 
ning a circulating medium ready at hand— gold; not minted 
and coined, but divided into nuggets and dust easily weighed, or 
for some purposes more crudely measured by the "pinch," which 
we are told made thick fingers valuable to the barkeeper ! The 
primitive safe deposits (buckskin bags and yeast-powder cans, 
buried or cached) answered for a time, but the need for available 
deposits soon developed, and the storekeeper became the banker. 
Banking was thus at first a side line before it became a business, 
but as early as 1849 there were five private banking firms in San 
Francisco, several in Sacramento, Sutter's Fort and other places 
in the interior. Some of the names connected with these earl.y 
firms have come down to the last decade— Sather and Tallant, for 
instance ; while the express and banking corporation. Wells, Fargo 
& Co., is the successor of the firm that carried gold in the fifties. 

The unusual financial conditions presented by an isolated com- 
munity with infrequent communication and alternate scarcity 
and glut of merchandise, together with rapid fluctuations in the 
prices of real estate, proved fatal to many of the early ventures. 
The failures of Adams & Co., Page, Bacon & Co., and other of 
the pioneer bankers, led to a popular distrust of private banking 
firms, and favored the establishment of strong, incorporated con- 
cerns. The Bank of California, incorporated from the private 
bank of Fretz, Ralston & Co. in 1864, is still the leading commer- 
cial bank in the State. 

The first incorporation for a savings bank was in 1857. The 
first national bank was chartered in 1870 ; the first trust company 

11 



162 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

in 1882; while the close of the century saw all four classes of 
institutions firmly established and forming a financial system of 
which any state might be proud. 

The early banks were merely offices where gold dust 
CommeFcial was exchanged for some form of current coin or 
Banks. drafts, and every steamer leaving for Panama car- 

ried shipments of gold to meet the drafts sold. 
Banks of deposit, where funds were held subject to check, was 
the next step, and the discount and loan features soon followed. 

The magnificent harbor afforded by the bay of San Francisco, 
which as early as 1849 was crowded with shipping, marked the 
city as one of the commercial centers of the world, and banks to 
care for the needs of commerce were a necessity. As San Fran- 
cisco is cosmopolitan in its population, so it is cosmopolitan in 
its banks, and the buying and selling of bills of exchange on the 
principal cities of the world, the issuing of credits for travelers^ 
use, and of commercial credits for the purchase of merchandise- 
all these are a regular part of its bankers' business. Facing the 
Orient, whose products have always been the subject of impor- 
tant commerce, San Francisco banks issue credits for the pur- 
chase of teas, coffees, spices, silks, jute and matting, and pay for 
them in London, still the "clearing-house of the world," with 
the proceeds of the wheat, salmon, canned fruits, wine and other 
articles of California production which the big ships carry 'round 
the "Horn" to Europe. 

Now that the Hawaiian and Philippine islands have been added 
to our possessions, the volume of our commerce is greatly in- 
creased, and with it the opportunities of the banker. The ques- 
tion of the "open door" in China, which is now involved in the 
war between Russia and Japan, is one of great interest to the 
banker. The answer must be a matter of uncertainty for some 
time, but the hope is not unwarranted that it will be decided, in 
favor of commercial freedom. Another equally vital question is 
that of the Panama canal, which now seems an assured fact. 
The results of such diversion of the world's commerce are too far- 
reaching in their character to be accurately forecast. Considered 
from a purely local and selfish standpoint, there has been much 
difference of opinion as to the effect on San Francisco's trade; 
but the best opinion seems to be that while there must be some 
diversion of traffic, the shortening of the waterway to the Eastern 
States and Europe must result in an increase of commerce, and 
consequently in the field for the commercial banker. It is worthy 
of note that, while from the very beginning, San Francisco's 
bankers have been familiar with questions of world exchange and 
trade, some of the New York banks are only now organizing 
exchange departments and tendering their services to the provin- 
cials on this side of the continent. 

What has been written about San Francisco as the leading 
commercial city of the State, applies in some degree to many of 



BANKS AND BANKING. 163 

the interior cities. The shipment by rail of fruit, both fresh and 
dried ; of beans, barley, and other products, affords a large 
volume of domestic exchange, which is handled by the banks of 
Los Angeles, Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento and other points in 
the interior. 

The story is best told by the figures. At the date of the last 
complete report to the Bank Commissioners, September 8, 1903, 
32 San Francisco commercial banks had a capital and surplus of 
$48,705,019, and deposits of $118,779,057; 242 interior commer- 
cial banks had capital and surplus of $41,742,600, and deposits 
of $127,303,658; making a total for the State, 274 banks, with 
capital and surplus of $90,447,619, and deposits of $246,082,715. 
The high wages and large salaries, with compara- 
Savings tively cheap living expenses in San Francisco, con- 
Banks, stituted a fine field for saving in the later fifties 
and early sixties. The easy fortunes made in mines, 
and the speculative disposition developed by mining, and natural 
to an adventurous class of men and women, were hardly condu- 
cive to thrift; but institutions to foster the saving habit were 
started, and the men on whom the management devolved have 
ably and honestly administered the trust reposed in them. The 
first savings incorporation was that of the Savings and Loan 
Society, in July, 1857, and it still holds its place among the lead- 
ing banks of the State. It is worthy of note that its first divi- 
dends to depositors were at the rate of eighteen per cent per 
annum : that in 1866 it was paying twelve per cent, and as late as 
1878, eight per cent per annum. From that date, the fall of 
interest rates to approximately those prevailing in the Eastern 
cities was rapid. For some years the interest paid to the depos- 
itors in California savings banks has ranged from three to four 
per cent. The Hibernia Savings and Loan Society, incorporated 
in 1859, is a purely mutual concern, having no capital stock; yet 
now holding deposits of fifty-six millions of dollars — larger than 
those of any other institution west of Chicago. The San Francisco 
Savings Union, incorporated in 1862, and the German Savings 
and Loan Society, incorporated in 1868, have deposits of thirty- 
two and thirty-five millions of dollars, respectively. 

Though the savings banks had a good field for gathering 
deposits, the field for loaning them was more restricted, being 
for many years confined to real estate. Amid the booms and 
collapses in values inseparable from the rapid growth of new 
communities it is a matter of congratulation that so few fell by 
the wayside, and that of those which fell, but one or two showed 
reckless management. 

While San Francisco was developing the large savings banks 
above mentioned, and other smaller but no less secure banks, 
strong savings institutions had gro-\vn up in Oakland, Los Angeles 
and many other towns in the interior. On the date before men- 
tioned, 9 savings banks in San Francisco had capital and surplus 



164 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

of $10,434,577, and deposits of $151,421,212; 59 interior savings 
banks had a capital and surplus of $6,631,383, and deposits of 
$61 474,317 ; making- a total for the State, 68 banks, with a capital 
and surplus of $17,065,960, and deposits of $212,895,529. 

Previous to 1854 the current gold coin in use was 
National principally from the private mints of Kellogg, Hew- 
Banks. stou & Co., Wass, Mohlitor & Co., and Moffatt & 
Co., while the silver was a miscellaneous collection 
of foreign pieces. In that year the United States Branch Mint 
at San Francisco was opened for coinage. This gave an abun- 
dant supply of money for business purposes, and the people 
became accustomed to metallic money, and entirely unfamiliar 
with the bank-note circulation of more or less uncertain value 
which was current in the Atlantic States. During the Civil War, 
when Congress issued treasury notes, or greenbacks, as they were 
called, Californians refused to have anything to do with them, 
and to the end California remained on a specie basis. Merchants 
generally refused to take advantage of the act permitting them 
to discharge obligations previously contracted on a coin basis in 
depreciated paper. The few who did not live up to this conven- 
tion were looked on with great disesteem, and a special mark 
stood against their names in the mercantile agency books, mean- 
ing, "Pays in greenbacks." This action had a decided and lasting 
effect on California finances, by preventing the great inflation 
of prices which later caused such disaster in the East. It was 
possible only on account of the isolated position which California 
occupied at that time, and, while it has been called a disloyal act 
on the part of a distinctly loyal State, it was more than made up 
by the steady stream of gold which she poured into the national 
coffers during this most critical period. 

In the northern and central parts of the State, the nationals 
increased slowly, and for several years there was but one national 
bank in San Francisco. The First National Bank of Los Angeles 
was chartered in 1880, and was for some years the only national 
bank in Southern California. In fact, at that time, there were but 
two other banks in Los Angeles. The great movement which set- 
tled up that section in the later eighties was made up of men from 
the Eastern States, already familiar with the national system, and 
banks were incorporated under that system throughout all the 
towns of the south, Los Angeles alone having eight at the present 
time. The national system has spread gradually through the cen- 
tral portion of the State, and is growing in popularity, more banks 
being chartered as national or converted into nationals every year. 
On September 8, 1903, the figures were: For San Francisco, 7 
banks, with a capital and surplus of $12,035,227, and deposits of 
$27,916,373; for the interior, 57 banks, with a capital and surplus 
of $12,918,498, and deposits of $67,072,531 : making a total for the 
State, 64 banks, with a capital and surplus of $24,953,725, and 
deposits of $94,988,904. 



BANKS AND BANKING. 165 

The position of San Francisco on the western edge of 
Fopeig-n the continent, with the broad Pacific in front, and the 
Banks. gold fields at its back, proved attractive to foreign 

capital from an early date. Among the first for- 
eigners to open here were the French. The house of Pioche, Bay- 
erqiie & Cie. is an example, while the great French bank, the 
Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris, has only recently closed 
its agency, to be succeeded by the Russo-Chinese Bank. The 
Swiss were represented by F. Berton & Co. and A. Borel & Co. 
The Rothschilds maintained an agency for many years, which was 
turned over to the Bank of California. The Seligmans began as 
private bankers, and then incorporated as the Anglo-Californian 
Bank, Limited. The Lazards became the London, Paris and Ameri- 
can Bank, Limited. The London and San Francisco Bank, Limited, 
was the result of the efforts of Milton S. Latham, once Governor of 
California, to interest British capital in the State. Canadian 
banks, like the Bank of British Columbia and the Bank of British 
North America, found agencies in San Francisco a good outlet for 
surplus funds. Exchange banks, like the Hongkong and Shanghai 
Banking Corporation, found San Francisco a necessary link in 
the chain they were putting around the world. These banks have 
been an important factor in the development of the State, and 
their control of funds from points where there was no pressure 
an element of safety in times of danger. They have never been 
numerous enough to dominate the situation, and with the increase 
of strong domestic institutions their importance is becoming 
relatively less. 

The business of the State was at one time exclusively 
Private in the hands of the private banker, and some of those 
Banks. who survived the disasters of the fifties established 

reputations that carried them almost to the close of the 
century. The increasing magnitude of business required amounts 
of capital more easily handled in the corporate form, and, besides, 
the spirit of the times seemed to favor corporations. With the 
passing of the men who had made the banks, the names ceased to 
have a value, the personality that animated them evaporated, and 
one by one, with but few exceptions, they have either incorporated 
or liquidated. In the entire State, at the date of the last report, 
there were but nineteen private banks, all but one outside of San 
Francisco. They showed capital and surplus of $1,119,709, and 
deposits of $2,551,334. 

The trust company, this end-of-the-century financial 
Trust marvel, was slow in taking root in California. The 

Companies, savings banks had taken on the care of large deposits 

belonging to estates, and other dormant funds, which 
is the most important part of the trust company's business where 
it has reached its greatest development. Besides, the California 
mind has not fully grasped the idea of the corporate administra- 
tion of trusts and estates. Nevertheless, the trust company is now 
firmly established. San Francisco has four strong institutions, 



166 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

and Los Angeles has three. The figures are— capital and surplus, 
$5,959,000; deposits, $23,884,000. 



GRAND TOTALS. 

Capital and 

Surplus. Deposits. 

Commercial banks, including national 

banks and trust companies -. . $90,447,019 $246,082,715 

Savings banks 17,065,900 212,895,529 



$107,533,579 $458,978,244 

With the exception of the runs which led to the clos- 
Failures ing of so many banks in 1855, California has been 
and Panics, remarkably free from any general financial disturb- 
ances. Bad management has at times wrecked banks, 
but the cases have been individual, and the people have generally 
had the good sense to discriminate between the sound and the 
unsound. The panic of 1893 spent its force in Los Angeles, where 
a number of perfectly sound banks were obliged to close their 
doors, and was hardly felt in the rest of the State. In San Fran- 
cisco, the only banks to close were the Pacific Bank (an old 
institution that had fallen into incapable hands and was in such 
condition that liquidation was inevitable), and the People's Home 
Savings Bank, which was under the same management. Although 
many of the banks were draAvn on heavily, more thi'ough the 
necessities of business than through alarm, they were all in good 
condition, and there was nothing approaching a panic. 

The constitution adopted in 1849 contained a strin- 
State gent prohibition against corporations organized for 

Supervision, "banking," the term being used as synonymous 
with issuing circulating notes. This was evidently 
the result of bitter experience with the "wild cat" currency with 
which many of the states were afflicted. It was first assumed that 
this prohibition applied to all forms of banking conducted by 
corporations, and in 1850 the legislature passed an act putting 
into effect this interpretation; but a more careful examination of 
the organic law showed that the embargo was intended to extend 
to note-issuing corporations only. In 1862, the legislative pro- 
hibition was repealed, and many banks were incorporated under 
the general laws of the State. These banks Avere permitted to 
exist, but Avere neither encouraged by the State nor were they 
supervised in any way. In 1878 an act was passed creating a 
Board of Bank Commissioners, and thereafter all banks in the 
State, except the nationals, Avere placed under the control of the 
board. The provisions of the act Avere in the main good, and 
resulted in the correction of some loose practices. Amendments 
to the act Averc made from time to time, until in 1903 the legisla- 
ture repealed it and abolished the commission. During an 
interval Avhen there Avas no banking laAv in force, about eighty 
banks Avere incorporated under the general laAA^s; but fcAV of them 



BANKS AND BANKING. 167 

have opened for business, the incorporators evidently believing 
that the charters so secured, with the freedom from restrictions, 
would become valuable. After an interval of some weeks, a new 
law was passed, which is in many respects an improvement on the 
former one. It provides for a board of four commissioners, at 
least one of whom must be an expert accountant. Every bank in 
the State (excepting the national banks) is required to apply to 
the commission for a license to transact business, and thereafter 
to report its condition in detail on past dates, three times a year. 
The commissioners are required to make at least one personal 
examination of every bank within their jurisdiction during the 
year. Banks found to be conducting their affairs in an unsafe or 
illegal manner may be ordered to conform to the law, and if they 
fail to comply are reported to the Attorney-General. When the 
commissioners are unanimously of the opinion that a bank is 
insolvent, they are required to take charge, and at the same time 
report the ease to the Attorney-General. That officer begins an 
action in the proper court, which, after a hearing, can either allow 
the bank to resume, or place it in the hands of a receiver. In 
case of the appointment of a receiver, the commission has general 
supervision over him and the liquidation of the bank. 

The development of banking in California has been 
Conelusion. briefly traced fi'om its beginning to the opening of 

the twentieth century. In the main, it has been a 
natural growth, following the needs of the different communities, 
and responding closely to their demands. One feature which is 
worthy of attention, is the fact that the banking capital which 
has aided much in the development of the State has been, in a 
great measure, produced in the State. At first, it came straight 
from the mines, and it is still coming in a steady stream from 
that source. Later, wheat, wool, wine, lumber and other varied 
products of this most favored land contributed their share, and 
the commerce that centered around the bay of San Francisco con- 
tributed not a little. It is true, as we have seen, that foreign 
capital had a share in the building of San Francisco, and that 
Eastern money has done much for the country around Los 
Angeles, but taking the State as a whole, it still remains true that 
California money has founded and is maintaining California 
banks. It is also a fact that the banks have generally loaned their 
money at home, and have not succumbed to the temptations 
afforded by high rates on the New York Stock Exchange, or the 
alluring lists of the dealer in commercial paper. 

It will be noticed that in proportion to population, the countcy 
south of Tehachapi has many more banks than the rest of the 
State, and the banks have many more depositors in proportion 
to their deposits. This, again, is the result of the influx of people 
from the East, who are used to paying their bills by check. The 
inhabitants of the northern counties have not entirely outgrown 
the buckskin-bag safe deposit, and a surprising number of mer- 
cantile transactions are still settled in coin. This furnishes a 



168 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

legitimate field for banking enterprise, and some of the newly 
organized Jjanks are working it to good purpose. 

The prosperity of the past five years has led to a great increase 
in the number of banks, and many are still being started. In most 
eases, the increase is justified by the increase in population, or 
else the new banks develop that field of unbanked money which 
exists in every community. It is a fact that the town with only 
one bank never gives that bank all its funds. A second bank 
draws out deposits that would not come to the first, and this 
principle holds good in the larger city as well. It is, however, a 
question if the demand has not been, for a time at least, supplied, 
and the investment of capital in this way can not be advised, 
except after a thorough examination of the conditions in any 
particular place. 

Though still a young state, California has a number of banks 
that are nearing the half-century mark, and many that have 
passed the quarter. Those concerns that have Aveathered the 
storms, and come through without disaster, find the established 
confidence to be their best asset. They are not confined to the 
larger cities, but are scattered all over the State, whose develop- 
ment they are steadily fostering, not with the methods of the 
boomer, not spectacularly, but quietly; encouraging saving, 
helping legitimate enterprises, and* resolutely checking unwise 
speculation. In their hands, and in those of the newer banks 
which are following the trails they have broken, the finances of 
the State may be safely entrusted. 



CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOLS. 



By ROBERT FURLONG. 



A review of education in California during the years of her 
statehood presents a period of remarkable activity in school 
development. 

From social conditions in which only a few unrelated schools 
were conducted at irregular intervals, to a condition in which 
organized society is maintaining throughout the State a system of 
well-equipped graded schools— a system ranking with the best in 
America— such is the record of the first half-century of Cali- 
fornia's state history. To this record, which has special reference 
to the educational system now maintained by the State, should be 
added an extensive system of parochial schools and also many pri- 
vate schools, denominational schools and academies found in the 
larger towns and cities. 



SCHOOLS OF CALIFORNIA. 169 

This marked contrast between education at the beginning of 
state history and as it is today becomes more striking upon making 
a study of the agencies that have contributed to the change. 

A brief statement of some leading circumstances in the transi- 
tional period of state history may aid to a better understanding of 
later progressive changes. 

During the years of Spanish and of Mexican control the few 
widely separated schools of California were supported either by 
religious societies or by tuition fees from patrons. A system of 
free schools, such as was proposed soon after American occupa- 
tion began, had never been practiced by the old regime. The 
organic law that came into effect with the admission of California 
into the Union provided for a general system of public education. 
Thus early was laid the broad and substantial basis upon which 
has been built a splendid educational superstructure. 

It is the theory of our form of government that a fair 

Public degree of education is necessary to good citizenship. 

School To that end provision is made by law for at least an 

System, elementary education for all children in the State, 
whether poor or rich, in country or in city. No com- 
munity is so poor, none so remote, but that it may have a school, 
free from direct cost to itself, if it will organize for that purpose. 
Accepting this privilege, every settlement in the State has its 
own school building in which a school is maintained during eight 
to ten months in a year. 

Revenue for the maintenance of these schools is drawn in part 
from the state school fund and in part from county school funds. 
The first named fund consists of moneys accruing from various 
sources, but chiefly from a uniform state school tax levied annu- 
ally. This money may be used only in the payment of teachers' 
salaries. 

The county school fund is raised by a direct tax levied annually 
upon all property values in a county. The rate varies in the differ- 
ent counties, but must be sufficient to raise a sum not less than $6 
per census child. It may be used for general school purposes, 
including teachers' salaries and school libraries. Additional rev- 
enue for increasing the school facilities, or for building a school 
house in any community, may be raised by a direct tax on district 
property when a majority vote of district electors so decide, or 
by a bond tax when carried by two thirds of the electors voting 
at a special election for the purpose. In the year 1902 the total 
revenue from the State for schools was $3,588,626 ; from county 
school tax, .$2,538,000, and from city or district tax, $326,095. 
The total of all receipts for public school purposes in 1902 was 
$8,125,490.63. 

The amount of school money raised for each person between five 
and seventeen years of age (census age) in 1902 was $21.72— a sum 
equaled in only three other states. 

It is and has been the policy of the State to set a high standard 
of qualification for its teachers and to pay sufficient to secure the 
best talent. 



170 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Nearly every phase of education is found represented 
Courses of ^^ California schools. ' ' From the kindergarten to 
Study and the university" is an expression often used as inclu- 
Classifiea- sive of the whole range of educational activity in the 
^^^^- state system. Outside this range, and beyond it, are 

found schools for technical and professional study. 
Such schools, while not in exact alignment with the regular sys- 
tem, are invaluable for students who would specialize in some 
chosen study. 

The public school system comprises an elementary course of 
eight years, a secondary or academic course of four ,years, and the 
higher education or college courses of the viniversity. 

Where a city or district so elects, a public kindergarten course 
of two years may precede the regular courses named. Kinder- 
gartens flourish in all the leading cities and in some of the larger 
towms, but only a few places maintain them as part of the regular 
school system. 

The elementary course, which admits children at six years of 
age, provides for four years in a primary school and four years 
in a grammer school. This course is usually divided into eight 
grades, corresponding wath the number of years ordinarily taken 
to complete it. A ninth grade or year is sometimes added. In 
rural schools of one department a single teacher may have pupils 
of all the grades. This, however, does not often occur. Rural 
schools with one teacher are common throughout the State. 
Wherever the ranches are large the population is correspondingly 
small within a district's limits, in which case the one-department 
school serves every purpose. Such a school is accessible to every 
country home. It is in session from seven to ten months in the 
year. It is usually a good school, in which all of the ordinary 
English branches are taught by a competent teacher. A course 
of study prescribed by official authority is followed in it with 
nearly as much precision as in a graded school having many 
teachers. 

In the smaller valleys Avhere fruit orchards and vineyards 
support many homes in smaller area, schools of several class- 
rooms are necessary. Modern buildings, equipped with the 
latest devices for the health and comfort of pupils, are the central 
places of interest in such communities. 

The elementary school of the city does not differ essentially 
from the rural school of the same class, already described. Dif- 
ferences in environment to some extent modify working condi- 
tions. A large attendance permits of finer classification, also an 
increased teaching force permits of closer supervision. Teachers 
have the same legal qualifications and the subjects taught are 
those named in the statutes for all elementary schools. The 
coui'se of study is usually more elaborate, the terms are longer, 
and school buildings better, as a rule, in the city than in the 
country. 

Supervising teachers of special subjects such as music, drawing, 



SCHOOLS OF CALIFORNIA. 171 

and manual training are employed in the larger cities to aid class 
teachers in their work. A board of education and a superintend- 
ent of schools direct all educational work in a county, also in 
a city. 

The statutory studies for the several primary and grammar 
grades of the elementary schools are as follows, viz., "Reading, 
Avriting, orthography, arithmetic, geography, nature study; lan- 
guage and grammar, with special reference to composition; 
history of the United States and civil government; elements of 
physiology and hygiene, with special reference to the effects of 
alcohol and narcotics on the human system; music, drawing, 
elementary bookkeeping and humane education." The statute 
provides that instruction in some of the branches named may be 
given orally. Educational values are considered by school boards 
when making time allotment for different studies in a course. 
Each county and each city has a certain independence in having 
its own course of study, yet, since all courses must conform to 
the statutes, the differences are not essential, being mainly matters 
of detail in method or suggestion. 

The State has looked with special favor upon its elementary 
schools. By constitutional provision the state school fund, 
amounting to millions of dollars annually, can be used for no 
other purpose than for the payment of teachers of primary and 
grammar grades. This support, considered with the high stand- 
ard required of teachers, places the elementary schools of Cali- 
fornia on a higher plane than is the same class of schools in 
perhaps any other state. And a school of this character is within 
reach of every home. Families contemplating a residence in 
California will find upon their arrival, no matter where they 
locate, a school in session in that neighborhood ready to enroll 
their children as pupils. 

They will find that the flag has preceded them there, and that 
in California the school house "follows the flag"— its chief sup- 
port—its supplement as the emblem of a free and enlightened 
people. The flag and the school are inseparable. 

A knowledge of the common English branches, even 
Secondary ^s taught in the best grammar schools, is no longer 
or High thought to be sufficient school equipment for the work 

Schools. of life. It is now nearly twenty years since the people 
of California began to realize this. Outside of the 
large cities there were then few high schools in the State. Today 
there are no cities, large towns or thickly populated sections of 
country without such schools. Those located in cities are com- 
monly designated "city high schools," as they are supported 
chiefly by city revenues. The law permits two or more adjacent 
districts to unite in maintaining a "union high school." Many 
rural communities have taken advantage of this statute. Union 
high schools have multiplied of late years until there are now 
very few counties unrepresented in this class of schools. Pri- 
marily the union high school is intended for pupils who have 



172 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC, 

completed the Avork of the grammar schools in the districts 
uniting'. Cost of maintenance is provided mainly by a levy upon 
the property value of the union high school district. Some of 
the smaller counties maintain a county high school, usually at the 
county seat. A county high school fund meets the expense. 

The three kinds of high schools named, while differing in 
organization and means of support, are essentially the same in 
plan and purpose. Nearly all high schools have a four years' 
course, which begins with the completion of the grammar school. 
Tuition is free in all. The course is academic, covering college 
entrance requirements. 

Of the 143 high schools in the State, 118 are accredited to the 
State University at Berkeley, which means that the university 
has. after inspection, recognized these schools as doing the kind 
and amount of preparatory work necessary for admission to its 
colleges. Student graduates from such accredited schools, Avlien 
recommended by their high school facult}^ are admitted to the 
university without examination. In addition to the preparatory 
course for college, some high schools have elective courses that 
do not contemplate later college study. 

An advanced commercial course is a strong feature of some 
high schools of the State. Students taking such course usually 
enter active business life upon leaving school. 

Polytechnic high schools are maintained in a few of the large 
cities. In these students are trained in the mechanical arts. 

As already stated, these various secondary schools are sustained 
chiefly by local means. Each county, city or community having a 
high school bears the burdens of its OAvn school. In this respect 
they differ from the elementary schools, which are supported by 
the people of the whole State. A recent amendment to the con- 
stitution permits the legislature to grant state aid to high schools. 
The first support of this kind given to secondary education was 
during the past year. It is believed that this state aid in the main- 
tenance of high schools will give them a new impetus for growth 
and strength; that they will increase not only in numbers, but in 
efficiency also. 

The crowning institution of the State's educational 
The State system is the l^^niversity of California. This was 
University, chartered by the State in 1868. Five years later it 
was installed in its present home at Berkeley, over- 
looking San Francisco bay and some ten miles from the metropolis 
of the State. "While the main site is at Berkeley, the University 
has affiliated colleges, various branch institutions and experiment 
stations elsewhere over the State. The vigorous growth it has 
made during the last decade has astonished the university world. 
Its comprehensive system of colleges and the facilities they offer 
for both cultural and vocational studj^; the work it is doing along- 
certain lines of special investigation in science; the aid it is 
rendering to several leading industries of the State, are all 
matters too widely known to need review here. It is sufficient for 



SCIIOOIiS OF CALIFORNIA. 173 

the purposes of this article to point to the fact that this great 
institution of learning, with all the opportunities it offers to 
youth, is open, free from tuition, to every student of either 
sex who has made the necessary preparation for admission 
to its colleges. 

Although not a part of the public educational system, 
Leland ^^^^^ university opens its doors to students, without 

Stanford tuition, in all of its college courses. It, also, is ranked 
Junior among the leading universities of the western world. 

University, j^ y^^^^ founded by the late Senator Leland Stanford 

and his wife, Jane L. Stanford, as a memorial to 
their deceased son, for whom the university was named. It is 
located in the beautiful Santa Clara valley near the college town 
of Palo Alto, thirty-three miles from San Francisco. It is richly 
endowed. Its faculty is strong; its student body is select. 
Although young in years, this university has attained marked 
distinction. Throughout the civilized world today it is perhaps 
as well known as any university in the United States. 

It will be seen that California is not lacking in 
Private and facilities for the higher education. Besides the two 
Denomina- well-known universities described above there are 
tional. numerous institutions of good standing that confer 

college degrees. These are mostly of a private or 
denominational character. Prominent in this class of institutions 
might be named Santa Clara College, University of the Pacific, 
T'niversity of Southern California, St. Mary's College, Pomona 
College, St. Ignatius College, Mills College, and others. From 
some of these colleges have come men and women of distinction 
in the history of the State and in the affairs of the nation. 

In the state system of public education, and in gen- 
Qualiflea- ^ral for all classes of educational institutions, the 
tions of character and training of teachers receive careful 
Teachers, attention. Few states in the Union have set such 

high standards of qualification for teachers as are 
established in California. The statutes name the requirements for 
the different grades of certificates which teachers must hold. To 
qualify as teacher in a high school requires both academic and 
professional knowledge of a high order. This means a full course 
in a university, which course must include pedagogical study. 

California has five professional training schools in 
State which students may qualify as teachers for the ele- 

Normal mentary grades. These schools, maintained by the 

Schools. State, are located one each at San Jose, Los Angeles, 

Chico, San Diego and San Francisco. Their courses 
vary to fit different local conditions. At this time the normal 
schools at San Francisco and San Jose have the professional 
course of two years. The Chico and San Diego schools have a 
four years' course, which is academic and professional. The Los 
Angeles school has a course of two years and one of four years. 
Requirements for- admission to the professional course are much 



174 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

higher than for the longer course that includes academic work. 
These normal schools are doing an excellent service for the State 
in furnishing trained teachers for its primary and grammar 
schools. Their value is becoming better recognized each year, as 
is evidenced by a steadily increasing demand for their graduates. 
The limitations of this article have not permitted of more than 
a hasty glance at any of the several agencies named as factors 
of education in California. Only the means to an end have been 
presented. The various phases of class-room work, what the 
schools are actually doing for the youth of the State, what the 
people are receiving in return for the millions of dollars annually 
expended in education, are all topics that invite discussion, but 
they are outside the scope of this review. In this article tlie aim 
has been to show that California is well provided with educational 
facilities, that her schools of every grade are of as high stand- 
ards as any in the Union, and that intending homeseekers will 
find in this Golden State all that they may desire in the education 
of their children. 

As some evidence of the high character of California's 
Supple- schools and of the estimate put upon them by experts 
mental in education outside the State, attention is called to 

Note. the fact that at the Exposition held in St. Louis, Mo., 

in 1904, in which the schools of the world were exhib- 
itors, the awards made to California in the Palace of Education 
were of the highest class, and more in proportion to population 
than were awarded to any other state or country. 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN CALIFORNIA. 



By CHARLES R. BROWN, 

Pastor of First Congregational Church, Oakhind. 



In all the years of human history men of moral vision have been 
going west. Many of them went out not knowing whither they 
went, sailing under sealed orders and unaware of the full signifi- 
cance of their action, but nevertheless moving forward in the 
definite fulfillment of a divine purpose. 

It was in that spirit of faith that Abraham left Chaldea— he 
vvent out, he went west, to Canaan to rear his family in the 
worship of one God. Thus Paul went out— he, too, Avent west 
from Troas in Asia to Macedonia in Europe, that he might plant 
his gospel in the newer continent. Thus the Christian mission- 
aries in the days of Augustine went out— they went west from 
Italy to England, when the latter country was pagan, that they 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN CALIFORNIA. 175 

might evangelize the people. Thus Christian men went west from 
Europe to become the early settlers in our own land, laying the 
foundations of the republic in faith and devotion. Thus Whitman 
and Benton, Junipero Serra and Thomas Starr King went out, 
going west to make known upon the Pacific Coast the message of 
divine love. And thus the shiploads of missionaries and school 
teachers still go, moving west, that in the Philippines and all 
the islands of the sea, as well as in China and Japan, they may 
sow the seed of a nobler life. It has been a long and unbroken 
procession, setting out from the older East to the newer West 
in the spirit of moral adventure. 

A splendid share of this idealism went into the early life of 
California. We find all about us abundant evidence of the ven-. 
ture and heroism of faith. Spanish missionaries, following in the 
wake of the conquest by Cortes, crossed over to IMexico, and then 
finding their way up through Lower California, planted their 
preaching stations in all the valleys that lie along the sea. San 
Diego and San Gabriel, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, 
Monterey, San Jose, and San Francisco — these are the enduring 
monuments of their early efforts ; and they went still farther on 
until they reached Sonoma, where the movement paused. They 
taught the Indians to think and to work and to pray. They 
practiced a beautiful, unealculating hospitality. They gave 
character to that mission architecture which is a distinctive 
feature of the State. 

And in those early times another world power, Russia, sent 
hither its missionaries, representing the Greek church. They 
came, not from the South or from sunny Spain, but from the 
frozen regions of the North, crossing at Behring's strait, plant- 
ing the standards of their faith in Alaska and continuing as far 
south as Fort Ross, which stands also in Sonoma county. And 
even as the "Sans" and "Santas" of Southern California testify 
to the work of the Spanish missionaries from the Latin church; 
even as the names of "Alhambra" and "Alviso," "Alvarado" 
and "Alameda," point back still farther to the time when the 
Moors crossed into Spain, bringing the Arabic "Al" with them, 
to be carried in turn by those Spaniards to the New World; so 
the names yonder in Sonoma county, "Russian River" and 
"Sebastopol," "St. Helena" and all the rest, speak of the pres- 
ence of Russian missionaries from the Greek church. 

But into the moral life of this mighty State God meant that 
Saxon ideals and Protestant principles should also enter. Across 
the plains and around the Horn came a great company of devoted 
men and women to found schools and build churches which should 
minister in still other ways to the higher life of this rapidly grow- 
ing commonwealth. We find, therefore, today, as a result of these 
varied efforts, all the well-known religious bodies well repre- 
sented in California by able ministers and prosperous churches, 
which furnish moral leadership to the communities where they 
stand. 



176 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

There has been a mistaken impression in certain quarters that 
moral conditions in California in the days of the pioneers were 
especially wild and lawless. The country was new, indeed, and 
the discovery of gold brought adventurers as well as sturdy and 
useful types of American life. The atmosphere was one to 
develop that courage and self-reliance which sometimes forget 
the respect due to order and system. In some of the early settle- 
ments and mining camps it was, indeed, as in the days of the 
Judges: "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man 
did that which Avas right in his own eyes." The trip across the 
plains or the voyage "' 'Round the Horn" had prompted the 
spirit of self-reliance until all hands were ready to face difficulty 
and danger with a jolly good humor which sometimes bordered 
on recklessness. 

But after all the necessary admissions are made, the moral 
sentiment of the dominant element among the pioneers was just 
and true. In the days when, owing to the preoccupation of the 
men of force and influence in rapid money-making, the adminis- 
tration of affairs at San Francisco had become too feeble and 
corrupt to be endured, there came the Vigilance Committee. It 
Avas, in its personnel and in its methods of procedure, as far 
removed as could be from the spirit of the mob. They were grave, 
determined men who saw that necessity was upon them to rebuke 
defiant wickedness in a way that could not be misunderstood, and 
to rid the community of a set of scoundrels which were a menace 
to all decency and honesty. The real leaders of the Vigilance 
Committee were, indeed, public surgeons, and they cut away with 
care and insight the cancerous growths which threatened the 
life of the body politic. The result was that there came a clearing 
of the air, a strengthening of the moral sanctions and an increase 
of that better sentiment which is for the health and security of 
any community. 

There are certain characteristics of the moral life of the State 
which are noticed at once by those who come to make their homes 
in California. The generosity of the people is warm and abun- 
dant. The spirit of those days when men gave freely and even 
recklessly l)ecause they were digging gold out of the foothills by 
the hatful, has been handed down to their successors. The people 
now respond readily and largely to the appeals of genuinely good 
causes. 

The evidence of this spirit is apparent in the various sections 
of the State. The generous thoughtfulness of one family alone 
on behalf of higher education for the youth of California and of 
the Greater West has given more than thirty millions of dollars 
for the rearing and endowing of Stanford University. When his 
son died and left him childless, Senator Stanford said, "The 
children of California shall be my children," and the millions 
were placed where they would bless and enrich the lives of all 
the generations of aspiring young men and young women yet to 
come. In similar spirit Jnmos Lick devoted his great fortune to 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN CALIFORNIA. 177 

the creation of the Lick School of Applied Arts, of the famous 
Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, where the clear skies of 
California give astronomers an almost unbroken opportunity for 
the study of the heavens, and of other well-known institutions 
which owe their existence to his generosity. 

The gift of other fortunes less notable, perhaps, but given in 
the same spirit of unselfishness, has reared for the people of 
the State a splendid array of hospitals and homes, galleries and 
libraries, schools and churches. In all the lines of activity which 
call for generosity and public spirit there are a great company 
of citizens here who have learned that "it is more blessed to give 
than to receive." 

The moral life of the State is also characterized by the spirit 
of freedom and tolerance. The members of religious bodies which 
observe as their sacred day another day in the week than that 
observed by the great majority of worshiping people find in Cali- 
fornia no statutes compelling action which their conscience does 
not approve and no legal prohibitions interfering with what is to 
them the pathway of duty. The aim of California has been to 
"render unto Cresar those things which are Cesar's" by legis- 
lating only in regard to those secular interests in which all stand 
alike before the law, and to leave to the free and untrammeled 
decision of the individual conscience those deeper, personal 
attitudes and relationships "which are God's." 

This absence of the puritanical habit of mind has sometimes 
been misinterpreted. The strong, natural, adventurous men who 
always rally on the frontiers are ever impatient of restraint— 
sometimes impatient of wholesome restraint. The outdoorness of 
our life ; the fact that over wide areas people may, if they choose, 
go off upon picnics fifty-two Sundays in the year; has added to 
this spirit of freedom which may indeed be carried to excess. 
This manifest geniality of the climate and the inviting nature of 
the outdoor air have therefore had something to do with an 
irresponsible habit of mind. It is much easier to believe in the 
wrath of God against evil in Northampton than in Pasadena, 
especially in the winter months. The absence of some of the 
rigors and terrors that have found place in the habits of mind 
belonging to serious people in other regions has not always been 
to our advantage. 

But even as religious people have found upon the whole that a 
separation of church and state, and the consequent commitment 
of all religious interests to the care of voluntary loyalty, have 
been for the advantage of both church and state, promoting a 
more resolute and less formal type of piety, so the air of freedom 
and the less conventional atmosphere touching matters of ethics 
and religion in California have meant the development of a large 
class of men who, left to themselves, chose righteousness simply 
because it was right. The children of any republic must in the 
long run learn to be free without abusing their freedom; and in 
this large confidence that virtue will in the long run furnish its 

12 



178 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

own effective sanctions California has sought to build her moral 
life. "She has shown her faith in the power of noble ideas by 
simply setting before them an open door." 

The religious life of the State is characterized as well by its 
missionary zeal. The churches which are here are the results of 
missionary gifts and enterprise on the part of others in the early 
history of the land, and the heirs of this gracious legacy are 
resolved to hand on the inheritance, not diminished, but increased. 
The readiness of the various congregations to respond to appeals 
for contributions to advance religious work in the lumber camps 
and mining towns, in the lonely villages and the sparsely settled 
regions, is proverbial. The mountains and the arid regions which 
cut us off from immediate contact with the rest of the country 
but serve to strengthen the feeling of fellowship and brotherhood 
among Californians ; and the interest of the cities in the countr3% 
of the older communities in the newer, promotes this warm and 
sympathetic missionary interest which aids steadily in the fur- 
therance of righteousness. 

The situation of California, fronting on the Pacific and looking 
across toward great populations yet to be inspired by higher 
ideals than those furnished by their own ruder faiths, acts also 
as a stimulus to foreign missionary enterprise. The prevailing 
sentiment is that the whole Pacific Coast has come to a sublime 
period in its history. The oldest homes of civilization were 
inland. In the valleys of the Euphrates and of the Nile the 
children of men built their early cities, planting their homes along 
the great rivers. But as the strength and the ambition of the race 
were enlarged the seats of civilization were transferred to the 
greater body of water, when Tyre and Corinth, Rome and 
Constantinople, became the nerve centers of the world's enlarging 
life around the Mediterranean. But civilization grew apace until 
it removed to the borders of the still greater Atlantic— London 
and Liverpool, Hamburg and New York, became centers of 
influence and power. But today, as never before, the interest of 
the world is upon and around that greatest of all the oceans, and 
wise men in the political and commercial councils of the world are 
saying that the Pacific will be the future theater of the world's 
most important events. It becomes, therefore, of vital importance 
that our nation should face that ocean with the spiritual frontage 
of a robust, intelligent and devoted religious life. This obligation 
is deeply felt and it is being met in a generous expression of 
missionary interest on the part of all the religious bodies in 
California. 

The presence of such a large proportion of men in all the 
churches is remarked at once by those who visit California. 
David Starr Jordan of Stanford University has called California 
"one of earth's male lands," accepting Browning's designation 
of certain regions which call peremptorily for the masculine 
virtues. "The fir.st Saxon settlers." he sa^'s, "Avere men, and in 
their rude civilization women had no part. For years women 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE IN CALIFORNIA, 179 

in California were objects of curiosity or of chivalry, disturbing 
rather than cementing influences in society. Even yet California 
is essentially a man's state. What we commonly call public 
opinion— the cut-and-dried decision on social and civic ques- 
tions—is made up in the house. It is essentially feminine in its 
origin, the opinion of the home circle as to how men should 
behave. In California there is little of this convention and tradi- 
tion, for, speaking broadly, in California the virtues of life spring 
from within and are not prescribed from without. In short, 
California is a man's land, with male standards of action — a land 
where one must give and take, stand or fall, as a man." 

The very predominance of the masculine element in the life 
of this younger of the states in the Republic has done much to 
emphasize the responsibility of the man in matters of religion. 
There is among us a smaller percentage of men who hold their 
religion in their wives' names. The mother of Zebedee's children 
is less often compelled to go alone to offer petitions and prayers 
on behalf of her sons while Zebedee is away fishing. The presence 
of this large number of men in the various congregations of the 
State' tends to make the preaching direct and practical ; it aids 
in keeping religion free from unwholesome mysticism or empty 
sentiment. 

The presence of a larger percentage of criminals than is found 
in some of the older states is sometimes cited to California's dis- 
advantage. If we had only the criminals of our own raising we 
would be ready to stand comparison with the best states of the 
Union. But, as all students of sociology know, the criminals, the 
tramps, the ne'er-do-wells of other states are constantly fleeing 
to the West to escape detection or in the hope of finding an easier 
field for exploitation. They move on until they reach the Pacific 
Ocean, and then, unable either to cross it or to effect a return to 
the abandoned fields in the East, they heap up like drifting sand 
and dirt upon our borders. The accumulation, therefore, of those 
who have gone West, not to grow up with the country, but to 
escape disaster which they had brought upon themselves in other 
states, accounts in large degree for the greater proportion of the 
criminal element on the western border of our country. 

It would not be of general interest to give here tabulated 
statistics touching the value of church property in California, the 
number of communicants, the wide range of benevolent activity 
to be found in all the religious bodies. If space permitted the 
introduction of such figures, California would make a splendid 
showing. The growing appreciation on the part of the people as a 
whole touching the wholesome moral influence exerted and the 
humane service rendered by the churches is indicated by the fact 
that four years ago the people, by a handsome majorit}^, adopted 
an amendment to the constitution exempting from taxation all 
church property used exclusively for religious worship, thus 
bringing California into line with the other states of the Union. 
The influence of this action is seen already in the erection of more 



180 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

permanent, costly and beautiful structures as places of worship 
in all the cities of the State. 

It might seem invidious to name any and not name all the 
religious organizations at work in California, but certain facts 
seem especially worthy of notice. Some of the largest and best 
appointed schools and convents, hospitals and homes of the Roman 
Catholic Church in America are to be found in California, for, 
from the days of the Spanish grants to the early missionaries of 
that faith, this church has enjoyed great prosperity. The fourth 
largest Congregational church in the United States is located in 
Oakland, California, and one of the largest Presbyterian churches 
in the coimtry is in Los Angeles. One of the stateliest and most 
ornate church buildings in America is that of the ]\Iemorial 
Church at Stanford University. The inaintenance of their his- 
toric forms of worship in the well-appointed synagogues of all 
the larger cities and the kindly service of their well-organized 
and far-reaching charities, testify alike to the prosperity of the 
many Hebrew congregations. The noble traditions of the Epis- 
copal Church, the glowing zeal of the Methodists, the missionary 
earnestness of the Baptists, the robust faith of the Lutherans, the 
evangelistic activity' of the Christians, as well as the character- 
istic notes of religious life in the many other bodies at work 
within the State, all find expression in the flourishing societies 
which bear these various names and labor together in loyal har- 
mony for the triumph of righteousness and peace in a land beau- 
tiful in climate and situation, and growing daily more beautiful in 
its deeper, inner life. 

The splendid showing made by the religious forces of this com- 
monwealth is the more remarkable when one reflects upon the 
fact that California is essentially a new countr^^ We need only 
turn back fifty years to find a situation just beginning to be 
touched by those forces which make for the permanent prosperity 
and well-being of any state. If one should stand with uncovered 
head at Plymouth Rock in the old com inon wealth of Massachu- 
setts, or reverently tread the soil of Jamestown, Virginia, the 
story of California's briefer life would seem like a watch in the 
night or as yesterday Avhen it is past. The paint and the varnish 
are scarcely dry on mncli of the work which contributes to the 
welfare of a people. 

Yet religion is naturally a plant of slow growth; it is one of 
the conservative forces of society and does not leap into its full 
strength in a night as do some of its rival influences. Its gentler 
virtues do not thrive in the bustling atmosphere of a gold excite- 
ment or a real-estate boom. It accomplishes its work best where 
it quietly becomes incorporated in the institutions and habits, in 
the sentiments and affections of a people, and thus comes to its 
own appointed fruitage in a nobler, purer and more humane life. 
All this requires time ; and religion has not yet come fully into its 
own here in California, because of the brief period covered by 
the history of the State. 



THE OUTDOOR LIFE OP CALIFORNIA. 181 

The Lord of all the values there are began a long time ago, 
even before the building of Solomon's Temple, in order that He 
might have the great sequoias of the Sierra ready for our coming. 
In the far distant past He sowed the seeds of those splendid 
forests which adorn the hillsides in Mariposa and Calaveras. In 
similar fashion, the many people now intent upon the higher 
life of California are today sowing in fidelity and love the seeds 
of that mature, well-developed and effective Christian civilization 
which in spirit and moral quality shall match the glorious climate 
and the wonderful resources of this fair State. And this noble 
result shall not be alone for our security and well-being— it will 
be for the healing of the nations. The gateway of the West is 
a "Golden Gate"— through it comes in the commerce from the 
Orient that shall make the nation rich, and out of it shall go those 
wholesome influences which, as missionaries of the Lord, are to 
enrich the lands beyond the sea with values that perish not. 



THE OUTDOOR LIFE OF CALIFORNIA. 



By WILLIAM GREER HARRISON, 

President of San Francisco Olympic Club. 

We live in our lungs; therefore, anything that improves our 
abode is of importance. The question naturally arises, "What 
is the best method of increasing lung power?" The answer is, 
"Deep breathing of pure air." In other words, the continuous 
exercise of the lungs in inhaling clean air and exhaling impure 
air. Exercise in the open is the way of enlarging the breathing 
capacity of the lungs. 

Throughout California the conditions of climate are such that 
lung exercise may be indulged in at all times without risk to any 
organ. The temperature of the lungs is never oppressive; no 
blizzards, no cutting winds, no stabbing of the lungs by frozen 
air: a genial, balmy, yet exhilarating atmosphere everywhere. 
San Francisco has a mean temperature of 65 degrees. The tem- 
perature throughout the State makes a mean of about 60 degrees. 
In the interior the air is so dry that at a summer temperature of 
100 degrees outdoor sports, tramps and mountain climbing are 
as freely indulged in as in the autumn. In mid-winter, outdoor 
amusements, such as long-distance tramps, shooting, fishing, and 
swimming, are enthusiastically pursued. On Christmas day of 
1903, and on New Year's day of 1904, the writer led some seventj^- 
five members of the Olympic Club over a fifteen-mile tramp right 
into the Pacific Ocean, where the party breasted the breakers, 
played leapfrog on the shore, and gamboled and scampered like 



182 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

lads of ten, and not a man caught cold. All over California there 
is in the air an electrical stimulant which is most bracing and 
which does aAvay with that tired feeling so common elsewhere. 

Then we have the pines, the aroma from which is almost an 
intoxicant and is the most subtle and effective of lung tonics. 

We have the redwoods; giants, grand, stately towers in the 
forest. The exhalation from these acts upon the lungs as a light 
massage and emollient. 

We have rivers and mountains, lakes and valleys, not exceeded 
in natural beauty anywhere. 

We have pine-clad and brush-clad hills to clamber through, 
which is a joy Avithout limit. The pleasure in hill-climbing is 
increased always by the beauty of the landscape, the rivers or the 
ocean, with islands, points, promontories and straits which fill the 
eye everj^where and yield a sense of enjoyment found only in the 
use of the eye and the muscles. 

California is a land of brown shadows and blue skies— the 
brown of the hillside, the blue of the ocean and its reflection in 
the sky, produce unpainted pictures in lavish abundance. Wild 
flowers — unwritten poems — greet you everywhere. Waterfalls, 
the joy tears of the mountain sprites ; cascades, in whose music 
you hear the Aveeping of wood njnnphs over dead forest kings. 
The bubbling, babbling brooks, interpreting the song of their 
silver-coated citizens; the cooing of the dove, the whir of the 
quail, the whiz of the snipe, the honking of the wild goose, and 
the frou-frou of the duck — all these are for the man who loves 
nature and desires to be at home with her, and are common every- 
where in California. 

Here the sportsman finds his paradise, and here are — 

Birds : Mountain and vallej' quail, English jacksnipe, wild 
pigeon, blue grouse, sage hen, robin (big, full-bodied birds), 
meadoAv lark, curlew, black ibis, billhead plover, vacet, willet 
(snipe), king rail, Virginian rail, reed bird, robin snipe, sand- 
piper. 

Ducks: Widgeon, teal, sprig, gadwell, canvasback, redhead, 
butterball, ruddy, blue-bill, Mexican tree duck, brownhead or 
whistler, mallard, spoonbill. 

Big game: Brown or cinnamon bear, black bear, elk, mule 
deer, blacktail deer, silver-gray fox, red fox, California lion 
(puma). 

Small game: Gray squirrel, pine squirrel; rabbit— cottontail, 
brush and hare ; beaver and ground-hog. 

Fish: Salmon — landlocked, quinnat, blueback, hookbill ; trout- 
rainbow, cut-throat, red speckled, brook, Loch Levin, Von Behr; 
rock cod— blue and red; flounders, tomcod, smelt, halibut, barra- 
cuda, striped bass; perch— redtail, surf and big-eye; sole, white 
bait, pompano (butterfish), sturgeon, shad, anchovies, sardines. 

Fish, birds, big game and small game can be reached easily by 
short-rail routes; and then comes the true pleasure of the sport- 
the climbing, clambering, tramping; the oxidation of the lungs 



THE OUTDOOR LIFE OP CALIFORNIA. 183 

and muscles; the joy, the jjiire physical joy, of movenient; the 
luxury that follows the overcoming of difficulties; the scramble 
over big rocks ; the climb over hills carpeted with pine needles, 
and the enthralling sense of victory when the objective point is 
reached. 

Alone in the woods— alone with God! Alone on the mountain 
top, you are reverent and prayerful, but never sad or depressed. 
Breathing in the pure mountain air, you breathe in hope, inspira- 
tion, and 3^ou would commune with the Master of the World, and 
rejoice that you live and move and find harmony in your heart. 
You can throw your cap peakward and shout like the schoolboy 
out for his holiday ; for you have drawn away from and mounted 




sukf-bathing in pacific ocean, near cliff house, san francisco — new 

year's day, 1904. 

high above the pettiness of the lesser life. You have shuffled off 
the business coil which bound you to your desk ; you are free, and 
the thought of freedom is yours ; and you are buoyant and gleeful 
and in love with all the world. 

California is the home of the artist; indeed, California is 
another Italy, and a new Virgil would w^rite the Bucolics and 
Georgics as of and about the Italia of the Pacific. Virgilian 
description of the old Italy exactly fits the newer and richer state. 
But we have color effects here not known, I think, even in Italy. 
Take the hills overlooking San Francisco — ]\Iarin hills— and you 
have a bronze-brow^n effect in color that is tantalizingly beautiful, 
because you want to catch and hold it as a something too exquisite 



184 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

to be left to itself. You have an infinite variety of shadings to 
this weird brown; indeed, there is a kaleidoscopic change, from 
second to second, which is literally fascinating. 

Then our sunsets; in them there is a supreme beauty, since all 
colors, all shades— dazzling, rioting, perplexing— mingle with or 
are a part of the rays which glorify the sky. the hills, the valleys, 
the seas, the ocean, with a light that is as the smile of the Eternal. 
Here is the place in which to breathe the sunshine. Light and 
colors are inhaled, and it is time some one explained the benefi- 
cent effect of the inhalation on the blood and brain and moral 
nature of man. California is the solarium of the world. When 
the sun throws aside the robes of night and breathes his morning 
benediction, until his evening prayer, when his lingering blessing 
touches everything with his kiss, there is a golden dusk or a sun- 
charged atmosphere in which man may drink a newer, richer 
draught of life. 

And the ocean, the Pacific; never monotonously peaceful; just 
a vast champagne bath, a universal salt glow, where massage is 
free to all the world. Always open, never a bar to ingress ; no ice, 
no snow; a storm only momentary and joyous excitement. The 
roar of the breakers an organ peal, the swell a flowing song, the 
spume an electric bath. Summer or winter, never a day when you 
can not safely enter the Pacific, plunging and swimming, breast- 
ing breakers or high waves, with a feeling of victorious pleasure 
and a sense of fitness that is a promise of eternal youth. 

From San Francisco to San Diego and thence to Catalina Island 
there are bays, inlets, roadsteads, where foaming steeds, white 
horses of the sea, rush madly to the shore. Here the strong 
SAvimmer finds joy inexpressible. Dashing under the swirling 
breakers he floats triumphantly for a moment in the long hollows 
of the ocean, and then with an increasing vigor again and again 
evades the rush of waters and with practiced arms steers his way 
to the sea incarnadine that lies like another sky beyond the 
breakers. Here, summer or winter, he flings aside the resisting 
waters and heads oceanward— a long, steady pressure, an over- 
head stroke or a side stroke carries him far from view, until pres- 
ently he turns shoreward with rapid strokes when he once more 
margins the breakers. These he uses like a circus rider, and 
mounts horse after horse until he is once more on the shore lines. 
The strength of it, the joy of it, only the swimmer can feel. 

And all this in winter as safely as in summer. Indeed, it is 
absurd to talk of winter in the Golden State. All days are open 
to the athlete and his pleasures. 

If you tire of the old ocean, then turn your eyes lakeward. 
Tahoe sits in the Sierra like a great golden-gray bowl, full of 
limpid Avater teeming with silver-coated trout ; guarded by moun- 
tain "ranges so weird in form and in color that one naturally looks 
for the gnomes, elfs, goblins, which have, or ought to have, their 
homes in the curious crevices, caverns, brakes, peaks, domes, 
curves, and bends which make of Mount Tallac and his kin a 



THE OUTDOOR LIFE OP CALIFORNIA. 



185 



giant's causeway leading to a land of delight. Tahoe is 6,000 feet 
above the sea level ; Mount Tallac is 3,000-odd feet above the lake, 
and from its rugged peak you look down upon a score of lakes 
set like precious gems in a setting of emerald green. The tramp 
to Tallac 's gray top is just rough enough to give an added inter- 
est; it is a stiff climb, but when the peak is under your feet you 
forget everj^thing except the glory and the joy of the vista. 

You tire of the lake scenery? Then off to the McCloud river 
for trout, or to INIonterey bay for salmon trolling, or the Sacra- 
mento for perch and salmon. Oh, I could name you hundreds of 
places in which to be glad that God made you ! 

Once a year, usually in the month of August, members of the 




A SWIMMING PARTY AT ALAMEDA CHRISTMAS DAY, 1903. 



Bohemian Club of San Francisco shake the city dust from their 
feet and for three weeks make their home in the heart of a red- 
wood forest. ' ' 'Neath the green sentinels, whose feathery plumes 
sweep the patines of Heaven," they pitch their tents and abandon 
themselves to a life that is in harmony with Nature. The fisher- 
man fishes and the pedestrian makes his ten or fifteen miles daily, 
whilst others lie prone on the bosom of Mother Earth, breathing 
in the forest air with a sense of pure enjoyment. The singer and 
the story-teller weave fancies that find expression in music and 
literature and painting. Others group themselves in nooks and 
hollows and wonder what the record of the giant trees would read 
like if only Nature enabled them to reveal their knowledge. 
These trees were above ground long before the Babylonian empire 



186 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

fell. They were lofty pillars of the forest when Joseph went 
down into Egypt, and they were probably full grown when Christ 
was taken by another Joseph to the land of Pharaohs. Europe 
was the home of barbarous tribes when these felt their full 
growth; and civilization after civilization appeared, fulfilled its 
destiny and was succeeded by new thoughts, new purposes, these 
to make room for the dominant purpose of today. Yet these 
trees lived and breathed ere England or America had a name or 
a place upon the map of the world. 

California is the only country in the world, I think, where mid- 
summer is entirely free of rain and where it would be possible 
to spend three of four weeks absolutely in the open. 

Polo, football, baseball and tennis are playable all the year 
through; and golf, lacrosse and cricket are only temporarily 
retarded by the degree of wet in the soil after our annual shower 
bath. Thousands of our young lads and lasses pay no attention 
to rain, but pursue their walks in wet weather as in dry. Indeed, 
few outdoor pursuits are affected by our wet season. We have 
usually three or four days' rain, followed by a fortnight of the 
most delightful Aveather — clear, bright, sunful days when one 
rejoices in life. 

In the bay counties we have sea fogs, which are of infinite 
service to all growing things, and are to many a source of pleasure 
in their effect upon the skin. 

But the great charm of California is that always and every- 
where you can live in the open, except in the brief interval when 
rain is most abundant. 

Fullness of days, rather than length, is the desideratum. A 
weak man is a travesty on Nature. Better fifty years of stren- 
uous, full life than one hundred years of vegetable existence. But 
in California long life and full days go together. In the free, 
open life of the Golden State there is no excuse for lack of health ; 
only the inherently indolent suffer. All who accept the treasures 
of the air, the sea, the forest, and the ocean as their own put on 
the full garb of man and woman and live such a full life as can 
be lived only in California. 

The joy of living; the rapid-coursing, life-making blood; the 
clean, full lungs; the buoyancy of youth in middle-aged man— 
these are ours, and we thank God for life ! 



California's health resorts. 187 



CALIFORNIA'S HEALTH RESORTS. 



By a. J. WELLS. 



For the healing of the "ills to which flesh is heir," Cali- 
fornia has over two hundred mineral springs of known excellence, 
and health resorts too numerous to be here even catalogued. 
They are distributed over the whole State, and under climatic 
conditions so beneficent and so general as to make the State 
itself a health resort. 

The serene skies and atmospheric peace; the absence 
The of "winter and rough weather"; the dry air of the 

Climate. cloudless summers ; the breath of pine forests that are 

never damp^ and the salt air of a sea whose habit is 
not stormy, have made California a Land of Health. No other 
country in the world with such range of latitude can show such 
climatic unity. There is a sea climate and a land climate, but 
save as modified by nearness to the ocean or by elevation in the 
mountains, the climate of the State is one. Lines of latitude 
hardly count. Oranges ripen in the upper Sacramento valley as 
finely as in the groves of San Diego, 600 miles south ; and the 
summer sojourner about Lake Tahoe or Mount Shasta finds the 
same temperature that he would find at a like elevation in the 
mountains of Southern California. 

And not even the countries which border the Mediterranean, 
where the same physical causes operate to produce a genial air, 
can show winters so mild, or summers so dry, or so free from cold 
and irritating or hot and enervating winds, as in California. 
Winter shows a green world, and makes all the land save in the 
high mountains a miracle of color. There are rainy days and days 
of storm, but there are weeks of sunshine, and sunshine when it 
comes is not an intermittent escape from objecting clouds. The 
skies are blue, the atmosphere cleansed and all the air radiant, 
equable, hygienic, rejuvenating. Summer is everywhere dry, 
and though in the interior it may be hot at noon, the absence of 
moisture produces a rapid evaporation, reduces bodily tempera- 
ture, and makes sunstroke a thing unknown. Then, too, the dry 
atmosphere provides for rapid radiation from the surface of the 
earth at night, quickly dissipates the heat of the day, and insures 
cool and refreshing hours for sleep. 

Now, it is in such a setting as this that the mineral 
Mineral springs are found. For the most part they are in 
Springs. the foothills, in the driest and finest air, where the 

only dampness discoverable is in the bathtub, and 
where no breath of malaria ever comes. From the first of May to 
the middle of October no rain falls, no storms blow, no changes of 



188 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

weather occur. A hundred localities during this season are like 
that place in Persia where it is said they have no weather, so like 
each other are the daj^s and weeks as to excite no comment. 

Mineral springs in California, as elsewhere in the world, are 
classified as alkaline, saline, sulphur and iron, and many of them 
are as valuable as any in Europe. A study of authorities on this 
subject shows that nature has widely distributed the elements 
which enter into the composition of mineral waters, and that 
therefore many California springs are almost identical in com- 
position Avith famous European springs. Thus yEtna Springs, 
in Napa county, California, show sufficient similarity with the 
noted Ems water of Germany to warrant like physiological and 
therapeutical action. Compare the following tables : 

yETNA SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA. EMS, GERMANY. 

Alkaline VA'ater. Temperature, 98° F. Alkaline water. Temperature, 115° F. 

Minerallngredients. u's'-'gIhoii Minerallngredients. L^'s^'ortnon 

Sodium chloride 2!) Sodium chloride 02 

Sodium carbonate 75 Sodium carbonate 84 

Sodium sulphate 8 Sodium sulphate trace 

Potassium sulphate trace Potassium sulphate .^ 

Magnesium carbonate 14 Magnesium carbonate 7 

Calcium carbonate 10 Calcium carbonate 10 

Ferrous carbonate trace Ferrous carbonate trace 

Silica trace Silica 3 

Total solids 130 Total solids 100 

Carbonic acid gas(cubic Indies) 58 Carbonic acid gas(cubic inches) 59 

So also the Santa Ysabel Warm Sulphur Springs on the coast 
line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, nearly midway between 
San Francisco and Los Angeles, are shown by Dr. Winslow 
Anderson to be very similar to the famous Arkansas Springs at 
Little Rock, Arkansas. The waters are tonic, antacid, diuretic, 
aperient and alterative, and while not advertised, or used as a 
resort, the springs have for centuries been used by the Indians, 
and later by the Mexicans and the Mission Fathers. 

Not far away are the El Paso de Robles Hot Springs. These 
are among the best known in the State, and are amply provided 
for the entertainment of guests, having a great hotel and magnifi- 
cent bath house. The waters of the springs are sulphurous and 
alkaline, and vary in temperature from 59 degrees to 104 and 122 
degrees Fahrenheit. There is a white sulphur spring, an iron 
or chalybeate spring, a mud spring, a soda spring and an alkalo- 
sulphurous spring. These waters are specially serviceable in 
acute and chronic rheumatism, in blood, glandular and cutaneous 
affections, in kidney and bladder irritations, in catarrhal and 
other troubles of the mucous membrane. The mud baths for 
rheumatic affections are probably as good as any in the world, 
and will ])e increasingly resorted to as they become known. The 
iron spring is valuable in cases of anemia, chronic malarial 
poisoning, and the many diseases requiring an iron tonic. The 
situation is charming, on the coast line of the Southern Pacific 



190 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Railroad, about sixteen miles from the ocean, immediately at the 
town of Paso Robles, and in a beautiful oak-dotted landscape. 
Climatically the region is wholly delightful. 

The Gilroy Hot Springs are in the Santa Clara mountains near 
Gilroy, and have more than a local celebrity. For skin eruptions, 
scrofulous and glandular swellings, 'sj'philitic and rheumatic 
affections, the water is used internally and for baths with great 
success. 

The Tassajara Springs, in Monterey county, are hot, saline and 
sulphurous, and are used locally. 

The Paraiso Hot Springs are also in Monterey county, and are 
widely knoAvn. The elevation is about 1,400 feet, and the air dry 
and pure. The springs are sulphur, soda and iron. The chief 
carbonated spring is called the "Carlsbad of America," and is 
found by analysis to be verj^ similar to the noted Carlsbad of 
Austria. It is said to be of great value in gouty affections, rheu- 
matism, liver and kidney troubles, and chronic skin diseases. 

Pacific Congress Springs are in Santa Clara county, not far 
from San Jose. The waters are of the alkalo-chalybeate clas.s, 
good for the anemic and dyspeptic, and are prized for table use. 
They are locally popular. The waters are similar to the noted 
Congress Springs of Saratoga, New York. 

The Santa Barbara Hot Springs and the Montecito Hot Springs 
are five and six miles from Santa Barbara, in the Santa Ynez 
mountains. They are valuable carbonated and sulphur waters, 
antacid and helpful in dj^spepsia and acid conditions of blood and 
urine, in gouty affections. Bright 's disease and troubles of th<' 
liver. The waters resemble the Hot Springs in Arkansas. 

The Matilija Hot Springs are much resorted to in Ventura 
county, are finely situated, and in a delightful climate. 

The Arrowhead Hot Springs, near San Bernardino, are called 
calcic, or earthy. They have a local celebrity and are of un- 
doubted value. 

The San Juan Capistrano Springs are near the coast, and arc 
locally well known. 

The Coronado Springs are on the finger of land upon whicli 
the great hotel is built, on San Diego bay, and are said to com- 
pare favorably with the Bethesda Spring of Waukesha, Wiscon- 
sin. The waters are called aperient, diuretic and tonic. 

The Tia Juana Hot Springs are just across the line in Lower 
California, but are tributary to San Diego. 

Carlsbad, north of San Diego, is similar to the celebrated Carls- 
bad Springs of Germany and the Kissingen Springs of Bohemia. 
The Temecula Hot Springs are the most noted in San Diego 
county. 

Byron Hot Springs are in the San Joaquin valley, or rather in 
a small valley leading from the larger one. They are in Contra 
Costa county, not far from IMount Diablo, on the railroad line 
from San Francisco to Stockton via Martinez. The time is about 
three hours from San Francisco. What is knoAvn as the "liver 



California's health resorts. 191 

and kidney spring" is strongly charged with sodium chloride, 
and is called "heavy saline" by the chemists. It is diuretic and 
slightly laxative. The hot mud spring, the hot salt spring, the 
black sulphur spring, the white sulphur spring, and the iron and 
alkaline and chalybeate water are all used at this resort for 
various ills, either internally or as baths. The "iron spring" is 
a well-known remedy for fever and ague and malarial chiUs, and 
has been used by invalids for many years. 

Bartlett Springs, in Lake county, were discovered in 1856, and 
have maintained their early reputation, and thousands have been 
benefited or wholly cured by the use of the waters. Rheumatic 
and chronic malarial affections, diseases of the liver and kidneys, 
dyspepsia, eczema, etc., are relieved or w^holly cured. The springs 
are charged with carbonic anhydride, and are pleasant, sparkling, 
carbonated waters. They are called diuretic, laxative and altera- 
tive in their effects. 

Equally well known are the Anderson Springs, also in Lake 
county. The springs are easily accessible, either from Calistoga 
or from Cloverdale, and the climate is unexcelled by any place 
in the world. One could live out of doors without tent or 
shelter from April to October. There are nine principal springs, 
hot, cold, salino-sulphuretted, alkalo-sulphuretted, salino-acidu- 
lous. They are widely popular, and have been used by many 
thousands with great satisfaction. 

Other well-knowm springs in Lake county are Adams, Allen, 
Harbin, Highland, Howard, Seigler, Saratoga and Witters. These 
are all celebrated beyond their immediate locality, and are largely 
patronized year after year. Lake county is called the "Switzer- 
land of America." Its scenery is attractive, and its climate 
unsurpassed by any other portion of the State. 

In Napa county are soda springs knoAvn abroad, the water 
being widely distributed. The situation of the Napa springs is 
charming, and the buildings commodious and impressive. The 
White Sulphur Springs are also in Napa county, near St. Helena, 
and the Calistoga Mineral Springs at the to^vn of the same name. 

Sonoma county has the celebrated "Geysers"— a marvelous 
region, full of steam and sulphurous vapors and uncanny noises, 
the fumaroles of a volcanic district. The springs are "iron," 
"alum," "acid," "salino-sulphurous," and "salino-boric-sulphur- 
ous," and are used both internally and for bathing. They are 
largely patronized, and are among the most valuable in any 
country. Mark West Springs, Lytton Seltzer and Soda Springs, 
Santa Rosa White Sulphur Springs and Skaggs Springs are in 
Sonoma county, and are well knoAvn throughout the State for 
their curative qualities. 

Tehama has the Tuscan or Lick Springs, "Red," "White" and 
"Black," which resemble the famous Blue Lick Springs of 
Kentucky. 

The Vichy in Mendocino county ranks among the finest on the 



192 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

coast, being in action and chemical composition almost identical 
with "Ems on the Lahn," Germany. 

Shasta Soda Springs, near Mount Shasta, are much prized. The 
trains of the Southern Pacific stop at the great springs, and the 
whole region is a well-known resort. 

The AVilbur Springs in Colusa county are deservedly popular, 
as are the Klamath Hot Springs in Siskiyou county, while other 
sections of the State have medicinal springs that are more or less 
locally resorted to for physical benefit. 

These cover the State, and are of two classes, the 

Resorts, mountains and the seaside. They embrace hotels of 
the highest grade, and outdoor camps. Coronado is 
in the extreme south, and unsurpassed on any coast for climate 
and comfort. Santa Catalina is an island in a summer sea, and 
one of the most delightful places in the world for rest and recrea- 
tion. Long Beach, Redondo, San Pedro, Santa I\Ionica, Pasadena, 
Redlands, Riverside, and Los Angeles itself, are both summer and 
winter resorts, where, if the season be wisely chosen, we are not 
oppressed by heat or beleaguered by storms. The San Ber- 
nardino mountains are much frequented in summer, and have a 
delightful air. 

Southern California as a whole, along its placid ocean front or 
in its dr}'^ and balsamic mountain air, is what "Baedeker" says 
of it, "perhaps the most delightful climate in the world. * * * 
More salubrious general conditions can nowhere be found. ' ' This 
applies to both winter and summer, if one chooses, with ordinary 
sagacity, localities to suit the calendar. A kind of "lotus land" 
it is, where, after tarrying a year or two, one loses all desire to 
return to the land of greater rigors. The growth of its towns 
and cities is a tribute to the climatic peace of the land, thousands 
being allured westward by something in the atmosphere which 
the worn term "semi- tropic" hints at but does not describe. 

Santa Barbara, by the records of her annual temperature and 
by the absence of the mistral and African sirocco, outrivals the 
Riviera, and has an Eastern and European contingent year by 
year to attest the quality of her climate. Paso Robles, aside from 
its baths, is a charming resort, and Monterey, Del Monte, Pacific 
Grove, and Santa Cruz are in every way desirable for anj^ season 
of the year. For scenery, for recreation, for the freedom of the 
wilderness, with the luxury of a palace, for magnificent gardens 
and drives, with golf and polo on winter lawns and grassy fields, 
Del Monte is an ideal place of rest. San Jose in winter is full of 
sunshine. San Francisco has attractions of its own quite unlike 
any other place. Its autumns are delightful, its summer days 
bracing and tonic, and winter sunshine when it comes is radiant 
and lifegiving. 

A chief of the Weather Bureau has said of the City by the Bay : 
"If a native of San Francisco were asked which was the coldest 
month of the year he might be unable to answer; and if asked 
which was the warmest he might say November. This confusion 




18 



194 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

arises from the comparatively small rauge of temperature." The 
records for twenty-eight years show that the warmest month was 
September, 60.90 degrees; the coldest, January, 50.10 degrees. 
This, of course, means the average temperature for the month. A 
hot day in sunnner is very rare, and winter has weeks of sunshine 
with an air that is bracing, invigorating, rarely cold, and often so 
nearly ideal as to invite one to forsake shop and office, and stay 
out of doors. Save on rainy days the band plays every Sunday 
in Golden Gate Park, and thousands crowd the seats and walks 
and driveways, or wander on the beach itself. 

And down the peninsula on which San Francisco is builded; at 
Burlingame, San ^lateo, Belmont, ]Menlo Park, the country seats 
of wealth and fashion, and at Palo Alto, the seat of the great Stan- 
ford University with its splendid buildings, the climate of the sea 
spreads out like a fan, modified, tempered by distance and by 
intervening hills, but making a delightful all-the-year air. 

So across the bay to the north, on the Marin shore, there are 
picturesque tOAvns and summer residences; sheltered nooks very 
charming all winter ; while farther back are the big trees, the red- 
wood groves — the resort of Bohemians; and looming above the 
bay and its cities is INIount Tamalpais, with Mill valley at its foot, 
full of homes, and a wonderfully crooked railroad climbing to 
the mountain-top, and about all the sea air, with its iodjTies, and 
the entrancing vision spread out from the hotel on the summit. 

The eastern shore of the bay has Berkeley, the seat of the State 
University; has Oakland with its background of sunny foothills, 
and Alameda, more out of the range of the direct air-currents of 
the Golden Gate, and brooded by a more tranquil air than the Bay 
city. The towns farther inland, but clustered about the bay, all 
have a modified sea climate, and as delightful for either summer 
or winter residences as the State can show. Golf links, tennis 
courts; bicycling, automobiling, driving or walking over the 
incomparable roads; winter recreations of some sort, are going on 
nearly all the time. 

"You see," one enthusiast said, half apologetically, "there's so 
much out of doors here"; and the first comers to this land built 
chimneys only for the kitchen, used the house for shelter, and 
lived out of doors. A climate that clothes the fields with emerald 
in January, and invites the invalid out of doors for ten months 
out of the twelve; that has all the charm of the tropics without 
their perils— this is the climate that spreads about the chief 
metropolis of California, but made tonic and stimulating by the 
breath of the sea. 

For mountain scenery, delightful forests, wild canyons, swift 
trout streams, glacial lakes, wonderful valleys, and uK^adows at 
8,000 and 10,000 feet elevation, ablaze with fiowers; for months 
of sunshine, unbroken by a cloud, unruffled by wind, unvisited by 
changes of weather; for dry air and dewless nights, the far 
valleys by day wrapped in haze, and the high peaks shrouded in 
snow; for all this California is unrivaled. The Shasta region, the 



TRAVELING IN CALIFORNIA. 195 

region of Lake Tahoe, the Yoseinite vallej^ Hetch Hetchy valley, 
Tehipitee valley, Kings River canyon— a second Yosemite— the 
Royal Gorge of the Kern river, wilder and longer and vaster than 
Kings ; the Giant Forest on the sunny plateaus between the Kings 
river and Kaweali river; many thousand magnificent sequoias 
and a greenwood to delight Robin Hood— why, after thirty years 
the Avriter is persuaded that no other country offers such beauty, 
such sublimity, such splendor of cliff and peak, tree and river, 
canyon and waterfall, such variety of interests and attractions, 
such wildness, remoteness, and sense of seclusion, yet so readily 
accessible, and over all such changeless skies, such healing and 
balsamic air, such absence of storms through the long sum- 
mers, such luxury of sunshine without oppressive heat even at 
noon, as the mountains of California. 

And Avhen we consider the long seacoast, the air charged with 
ozone, placid, equable, tonic and invigorating, and the foothills, 
dry and warm, the land of the camper and summer lounger, and 
the medicinal springs everyAvhere, to suit every taste, to relieve 
every ill that mineral waters can, it would seem that the assertion 
with which we began is justified, and that California itself is a 
health resort. It is more : it is the outing-place beyond compari- 
son, the playground of the world, and if "climate makes up fully 
one half of human happiness," we have not said too much about 
that elusive thing which the invalid and the tourist alike seek, 
and Avhich makes the charm of California. 



TRAVELING IN CALIFORNIA. 



By ELWYN HOFFMAN. 



California can not be measured by the same yard-stick with 
which we measure other states and countries of the world. Who- 
ever attempts to do such a thing Avill soon find himself at a loss 
as to hoAV he shall proceed, and will finally come to the conclusion 
that here is a land distinct and apart from all others— one that 
must be judged entirely by itself. In its climate, its products, 
and in nearly everything else, California stands apart. Even in 
its transportation facilities this "Land beyond the West" is alto- 
gether unlike any other state. 

The traveler in California Avill not only find many of the best 
features known to transportation anyAvhere. but "he may also 
enjoy more unique and interesting features than he Avill be able 
to find in any other state in the Union. Not alone may he traverse 
the valleys in the luxurious cars of transcontinental flyers, but he 



196 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS,, RESOURCES, ETC. 

mav travel on soenie roads that wind i)ifturesquely up rugged 
mountains: he may make memorable trips through dark redwood 
forests on rushing lumber trains; speed over the smooth water- 
ways on fine steamers, or go down to cities by the sea on swiftly 
flying electric cars. 

Within a few miles of San Francisco the traveler will find a 
most interesting bit of railroading. The ]\Iount Tamalpais Scenic 
Railway is famous as "the erookedest railroad in the world," and 
it deserves its title. Winding up to the mountain's crest, from 
which splendid views may be had of all the surrounding coun- 
tiy—the harbor of San Francisco, the city and its environs — 
this railroad makes such a lot of bewildering turns that the 
traveler can not help but realize that here is something distinctly 
out of the usual. Then there is the road up ]\Iount Lowe, but a 
short distance from Los Angeles, which takes one up a steep 
incline, more as a "lift" than as a railway, to the Swift Observa- 
tory and Alpine Tavern, thousands of feet above sea level. The 
famous Tehachapi Loop of the Southern Pacific Company is still 
another interesting feature in railroading to interest the traveler. 

But travel in the Golden State is not confined to rail. Cali- 
fornia has particularly fine waterways. The San Joaquin and 
Sacramento rivers drain the greater portion of the State, the 
latter being open to navigation for a distance of two hundred 
miles. The bay of San Francisco is one of the largest and finest 
in the Avorjd, and all sorts of craft plow its waters. 

Staging in California is not today what it was years ago, before 
the shilling steel of the railroads was laid up and down the broad 
valleys and over the mountains. Yet even now, the traveler may 
experience something of that which made the glory of the "other 
day." The most famous stage lines in California, and perhaps 
in the world, are those from Raymond and Pierced to the Yosemite 
Valley. One there finds the good old-time stage coaches, the 
dashing teams and the skillful drivers told of in the narratives of 
othei- times. The stage roads are oiled dui-ing the summer season, 
and a i-ide over th»mi is counted one of the finest trips in the State. 
Raymond is the SoutluM-n I'acific's route to the great valley, the 
Santa Fe reaching Yosemite from Merced by an interesting stage 
line which pass(?s en route the IMerced big trees. 

All these things give piquancy to travel in California, and 
make the traveler i-ralizc that the State is unique even in its 
transportation. 

The travelei- who comfs to California by i-ail has a wide choice 
of routes. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Ke Railroad enters the 
State at its southei-n dooi-. The (Ji-and Canyon of Arizona, the 
cliff dwellings and the |)etrified forests are on the line of this rail- 
road, and are so much a part of the sight-seeing of a California 
trip that they may be properly mentioned in this article, although 
they occur a little before crossing the California line. 

The Southern Pacific Company reaches the State by three 
routes. The Shasta route entei-s California from Portland, 



TRAVELING IN CALIFORNIA. 



197 



Oregon, across the Siskiyou mountains, through some of the finest 
scenery in the workl. Indeed, this is a great scenic route, and 
many a traveler has looked out upon the heavily wooded moun- 
tains and the dark gorges, and felt his heai-t stir within him long 
before the train, rushing down toward the sunny valley of the 
Sacramento, bore him into view of hoary, majestic ]\Iount Shasta. 
The Ogden route brings one into the State across the Sierra 
Nevadas, through a wonderland of grand views, from Lookout 
Mountain to famous Cape Horn. The Sunset route comes in from 
New Orleans via Yuma, through the same great southern gateway 
utilized by the Santa Fe. Both companies afford the traveler 
everything that is up to date and luxurious, and their trains are 




U:^ION FERRY DEPOT, SAX FRANCISCO. 



reckoned among the finest in the world. At one time it was a 
long distance from the East to California, but today it does not 
seem so far. The trip that took the pioneers so long to make 
"across the plains" is now but a matter of hours. Three days 
from Chicago will land one at San Francisco. 

California has an area in scpiare miles larger than the com- 
bined areas of New York, Ncav Je^^sey, Vermont, Maine, New 
Hampshire, Connecticut, Ohio and ^Massachusetts. There are 
thirty-five steam roads operating in the State today, with a total 
mileage of about six thousand. Many of these are held by lease 
or other^vise, so that they form part of the two principal railroads 
of California— the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe. The 
Southern Pacific is the pioneer line, being practically California's 



198 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

first railroad, the present company having grown out of the 
Sacramento Valley road and the Central Pacific. The first rail- 
road connecting California with the East was started at Sacra- 
mento in 1863, and was built through the rocky barriers of the 
Sierra Nevada mountains. 

The principal railroads in California at present are the lines 
through the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, the coast lines, 
and the lines in Southern California. These cover the greater 
portion of the State, and afford the traveler transportation facili- 
ties to nearly every point to which he may want to go. 

Let us suppose that the traveler enters California by the Shasta 
route. After crossing the Siskiyou mountains at the northern end 
of the State, and passing Mount Shasta, he is brought down the 
canyon of the Sacramento river to the head of the great Sacra- 
mento valley. When the traveler arrives at this point he is at the 
northern end of the great interior basin of California, and just 
about to enter one of the great agricultural sections of the State. 
And there at the head of the valley he will be confronted by 
the question of routes. The main line branches here, one branch 
swinging away through the rich farming country on the west side 
of the valley, while the other follows the course of the Sacramento 
river, branching again before the lower end of the valley is 
reached. By these lines the traveler can reach any part of the 
Sacramento valley, and by still other branches turn aside into the 
rich foothill districts. The Ogden route of the Southern Pacific 
comes into \hv Sacramento valley at its lower end, and both of 
these lines join it and take the traveler to San Francisco. 

Both the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe enter the San 
Joaquin valley at its southern extremity, coming in over the 
Tehachapi mountains on the same track. The former has two 
main lines the entire length of the valley, while the Santa Fe has 
two main lines for over half the distance. All the principal cities 
in the San Joaquin valley are connected by these lines, and there 
are several loop lines and branches Avhich tap outlying sections. 
One of the Southern Pacific's branch lines reaches Raymond, the 
point at which travelers take stage for Yosemite Valley and the 
Big Trees. The Yosemite route of the Santa Fe is from Merced, 
on its main line. 

Just as the rivers which drain this great interior basin turn at 
last and flow into San Francisco bay, so do all these various lines 
of railroad make their way to the western edge of the State until, 
broadly speaking, they enter San Francisco at the same point. 
The Santa Fe line terminates at Point Richmond and Oakland, 
and the lines of the Southern Pacific at Oakland, both places 
being just across the bay from San Francisco. 

San Francisco, being the pi-incipal city and main seaport of 
the Pacific Coast, constitutes the objective point for transporta- 
tion lines. The traveler will find it easy to leave San Francisco 
in any direction which he may want to go. Besides the lines just 
spoken of, there are other roads whir-h come into San Francisco. 



TRAVELING IN CALIFORNIA. 



199 




OAKLAND MOLE — TERMINUS OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. 



The California & Northwestern runs from San Francisco a dis- 
tance of some two hundred miles northward through the fertile 
Sonoma and Russian River valleys, bringing the traffic of those 



200 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

rich sections to the metropolis. There is a coast line of the 
Southern Pacific system rnnnini;- down the Ran Francisco penin- 
sula. The North Shore Railroad i)asses north through picturesque 
Marirl county, and will carry the traveler to the immediate north 
coast. The Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway connects with this 
line, and gives the traveler the unusual experience of its wonder- 
ful, windinjo- route. 

The traveler will see ships of all nations in the great harbor of 
San Francisco, and jjcrhajis may note, in-coming or out-going, the 
great liners of the Pacific ^Fail. the Occidental & Oriental, or the 
Oceanic steamship companies, hound to or coming from China, 
Japan, Hawaiian Islands, the Philippines or Australia. Or he may 
note the steamers of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, which 
reach all the ports of the Pacific coast. Central and South America, 
and Alaska. Here, too, he may see other steamers leaving San Fran- 
cisco for Alaska, Cape Nome, and other northern points, and may 
also notice on the bay the river steamers from the San Joaquin 
and the Sacramento. All the railroads which enter San Francisco 
have fine transfer steamers on the bay, so that the traveler finds no 
difificulty in crossing at any hour he wishes. 

The traveler may go from San Francisco to Los Angeles by two 
routes. The Southern Pacific will take him by its coast line "the 
way of the missions," and either the Southern Pacific or the Santa 
Fe will carry him by the other route, through the San Joaquin 
valley. The coast line covers the country from San Francisco to 
Los Angeles, with many loop lines and branches, and affords the 
traveler a chance to visit all the important places along the coast 
for that distance. The main line goes south down the San Fran- 
cisco peninsula. Avhile a broadgauge and a narrowgauge line leave 
Oakland and Alameda respectively, and reach San Jose, in the 
heart of the Santa Clara valley, via the east side of the bay. The 
narrowgauge runs Avest to Santa Cruz. Avhile the main line con- 
tinues southward. One of the most inqjortant branch lines is the 
line that runs out of Castroville, reaching famous Hotel Del Monte, 
INfonterey and Pacific Grove. From Castroville the main line 
takes the traveler to Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, 
and then to Los Angeles. 

The city of Los Angeles is another objective point for trans- 
portation, and it is here that all the lines of Southern California 
converge. The Sunset route of the Southern Pacific comes to Los 
Angeles, and the Santa Fe reaches it by the Southern California 
Railroad, which is a part of its system. By this latter line the 
traveler may reach San Diego, and all that portion of the State 
which lies along the coast immediately south of Los Angeles. It 
also reaches Coronado Beach and many other famous resorts. 

The Santa Fe in Southern California has many attractive trips 
to offer, but swinging around the "Kite-shaped track" is the one 
that appeals to those who desire to get a glimpse of the most char- 
acteristic scenes in the shortest time. It embraces a ride over one 
hundred and sixty-six miles of railway through scenes which illus- 
trate the beauties of Southern California. It is unicpie in the fact 



TRAVEIJNG IN CAUKORNIA. 



201 



that not one mile of the trip is duplicated, and at only one point, 
San Bernardino, where the two lines cross, is the same scene twice 
viewed. It begins and ends at Los Angeles, and may be traveled 
either going via Pasadena, returning via Orange, or vice versa. 
The more popular way is from Los Angeles through the Arroyo 
Seeo to Pasadena. Santa Anita (Baldwin's ranch), Monrovia. 
Azusa, Upland, North Cucamonga. Rialto. San Bernardino, Red- 
lands, J\Ientone, Highland and Arrowhead; Colt on, Riverside, 
Corona. Santa Ana canyon. Orange, Fullerton and La ]\lirada! 
back to Los Angeles. It can be made in a day. The drive or 
electric car ride either to Smiley Heights in Redlands, or down 
JNIagnolia and Victoria avenues at Riverside, will well repay any 
person desirous of viewing these beautiful places. 




FERRYBOAT SOLA.NO — I.AIH.KSI' IN Till; WdKl.I). 

On main line of Sootliern Pacific. Conveys two whole trains at one trip. 

The "inside track" of the Southern Pacific covers a large por- 
tion of the country southeast of Los Angeles, and will take the 
traveler to Riverside, San Bernardino, Pasadena, and other places 
in the heart of the orange district. 

The San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, the new 
Clark line, is only partially completed at present, but will be 
finished soon. This line will certainly be an important factor in 
the transportation development of Southern California. It will 
extend from San Pedro to Los Angeles, and thence across the 
^lojave desert to Nevada. When this line has been completed, the 
traveler will have still another route into California. 

The southeastern part of the State is reached by the Carson & 



202 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

Colorado Railroad, a line in the Southern Pacific system which 
enters at the town of Queen and runs to Keeler, on the edge of 
Death valley. This line gives transportation facilities to Mono 
and Inyo counties, and to the Tonopali mining district of Nevada. 

The Nevada, California & Oregon Railroad is an important line 
in the northeastern part of the State, and will probably become of 
much more importance in the future. This road enters California 
at Purdy, Plumas county, and runs northward a distance of one 
hundred miles to Termo, Lassen county, giving an outlet to the 
great stock ranges of Northern California and Southern Oregon. 

The traveler who goes north of San Francisco to Humboldt and 
Del Norte counties will find few railroads, and those principally 
private lines owned by lumber companies. The most important of 
these lines are the Eureka & Eel River Valley Railroad, now owned 
by the Santa Fe; the Areata & Mad River Railroad, and the 
Eureka & Klamath Valley Railroad. The large transportation 
companies of California are alive to the fact that this section is a 
very rich one, and it will not be long before there will be many 
roads throughout these northern counties. 

One of the things which will appeal to any traveler in California 
is the service afforded by electric lines. The last few years have 
witnessed a great deal of activity in this direction. Every large 
city in California is now the center of a network of electric lines. 
To a certain extent, these electric roads have revolutionized local 
transportation in many parts of the State. There are fine electric 
lines in the Santa Clara valley, and in all the most important parts 
of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. The electric lines in 
and around Los Angeles give that city an unexcelled suburban 
service. These lines reach all the important towns near Los 
Angeles, and compare most favorably with the best Eastern lines. 
The rails and cars are heavy, and the time made is exceptionally 
fast. Many new lines are being built throughout California, and 
every existing electric railway company is constantly broadening 
and extending its service. 



THE FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OP CALIFORNIA. 203 

PAST AND PRESENT OF THE FRANCISCAN 
MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA. 



By J. R. KNOWLAND, 

President of Califoi-nia Historic Landmarks League. 



Within recent years there has been a very perceptible awakening 
of interest in the Franciscan missions, a subject which forms a 
unique and fascinating chapter of California's picturesque and 
romantic history. As a result, organizations have been formed in 
both Northern and Southern California with the object in view of 
preserving and restoring the remaining missions— landmarks around 
which cluster a flood of historic memories of the pastoral days of 
long ago. 

But two links are missing in that chain of missions, twenty-one 
in number, which stretched from San Diego in the far south to 
Sonoma in the north. San Rafael Arcangel and Santa Cruz mis- 
sions have entirely disappeared, not an adobe brick or tile remain- 
ing to designate the former locations of these one-time flourishing 
establishments. Of the remaining nineteen, Soledad mission, in 
Monterey county, is a hopeless ruin, the rains of each succeeding 
winter gradually leveling the few desolate adobe walls, pathetic 
reminders of pristine glory. 

After practically a century of neglect, during which time the 
hand of vandalism was not stayed, Californians are fortunate, now 
that public sentiment is aroused, that more of these ancient piles 
are not shapeless, crumbling masses beyond human power to restore. 
To-day eighteen of the California missions are in a condition to 
be preserved for posterity, but in a number of instances the 
chapels have entirely disappeared, other buildings, however, which 
formed a part of the respective establishments, having withstood 
the ravages of time. 

The Order of Franciscans, Avhen they importuned Carlos III for 
the necessary authority to plant the cross in Alta California, were 
actuated by naught but pure and unselfish motives. When at hist 
Spain granted the permission so long coveted, the dispelling of the 
darkness of paganism was by no means the controlling influence 
which prompted the action of the Spanish court. The importance 
of extending its dominion over the north had long been realized. 
The existence of the desirable ports of San Diego and Monterey 
was known. Had these California ports been occupied they 
would have been found most serviceable to the Manila galleons, 
richly laden and often sadly in need of repairs and fresh pro- 
visions, which sailed from the west by the northern route. Pirates 
would sometimes temporarily occupy these ports while lying in 
wait for the Spanish galleons. 

The fear of Russian encroachments also exerted an influence in 



204 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

arousiiiii' the Spanish authorities to the necessity of occupying 
California — a fear which was well grounded, as events later proved, 
for in 1812 the Russian government established a fort known as 
Ross, within the present county of Sonoma. Remains of Fort Ross 
still exist. 

^Military as well as spiritual was to be the first civilized occupa- 
tion of California. Both presidios and missions were to be estab- 
lished. At San Diego in 1769 the first mission w^as founded by the 
president of the Franciscans, Father Junipero Serra. Land and 
sea expeditions— two of each— had been fitted out in Baja (Lower) 
California, and it was upon the arrival of the last of these several 
detachments that the cross was planted and the spiritual conquest 
of Upper California begun. 

In 1774 San Diego de Alcala mission was moved six miles from 
the original site, the location of the present ruins. R. H. Dana Jr., 
in his ' ' Two Years Before the ]\Iast, ' ' tells of a visit he paid to the 
mission in 1834: "After a pleasant ride of a couple of miles we 
saw the white walls of the mission. There was something decid- 
edly striking in its appearance ; a number of irregular buildings, 
connected Avith one another and disposed in the form of a hollow 
scjuare, Avith a church at one end rising above the rest, and Avith 
an immense iron cross at the top." Continuing his description of 
the buildings as they appeared after they had been practically 
deserted, Dana adds: "Just outside of the buildings, and under 
the Avails, stood twenty or thirty small huts, built of straAV and 
branches of trees. Entering a gatcAvay Ave drove into the open 
square, in AA'hich the stillness of death reigned. On one side Avas 
the church ; on another a range of high buildings Avith grated Avin- 
doAA's; a third AA'as a range of smaller buildings, and the fourth 
seemed to be little more than a high connecting Avail." 

The padres of San Diego mission Avere the pioneers of irrigation. 
A few miles above the mission are the ruins of a dam built fully 
one hundred and thirty years ago to supply the mission Avith 
Avater. This dam Avas thirteen feet in thickness and covered Avith 
cement that became as hard as stone. 

Only a portion of the chapel of San Diego mission remains. 
The Landmarks Club of Southern California has expended $500 in 
safeguarding the fcAV Avails of this, the mother mission. 

San Carlos Borromeo (Carmelo) mission Avas the second to be 
founded. The first land expedition, under the leadership of Por- 
tala, Avas unsuccessful in locating Monterey, continuing north and 
discoA^ering San Francisco bay. This expedition returned to San 
Diego. Undaunted by failure, a second expedition, composed of a 
land and sea detachment, Avas later fitted out. Both divisions 
arriA'ed but eight days apart, and upon the shores of placid ^lon- 
terey bay the royal colors Avere unfurled, the cross planted, and 
under the spreading branches of a great oak, mass Avas said by 
Father Serra on the 3d of June, 1770. A j'ear later a more suit- 
able site Avas chosen near the bay and riA'er Carmelo. The mission 
is now knoAvn both as San Carlos and Carmelo. 



THE FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA. 



205 



In volume II of "A Voyage 'Kound the World/' by J. F. (i. 
De La Peronse, appears a very valuable and interesting description 
of mission life in 1786, during which year this noted traveler vis- 
ited San Carlos mission. As he approaclied the mission estab- 
lishment he was met l)y the president, who was clothed in his 
ceremonial habiliments. "Before we entered the church we passed 
through a square in which the Indians of both sexes were ranged in 
a line. Within the church were noticed pictures of hell and of 
paradise. The houses of the missionaries, as well as the different 
storehouses, were opposite the church. The Indian village, con- 
sisting of about fifty huts, which served for seven hundred and 
forty persons of both sexes, stood on the right and were most 




SA^'TA BARBARA MISSION. 

The one that has been perfectly preserved. The California biiildiug at the 
St. Louis Exposition was modeled from it. 

wretched." La Perouse furnishes an entertaining description of 
the daily routine of mission life : 

' ' The proselytes are eolleAed by the sound of a bell ; a mis- 
sionary leads them to work, to the church, and to all their exercises. 
The day consists in general of seven hours labor and two hours 
prayer : but there are four or five hours prayei" on Sundays and 
festivals, M'hich are entirely consecrated to rest and divine wor- 
ship. The Indians, as well as the missionaries, rise with the sun. 
and immediately go to prayers, which last for an hour. During 
this time three large boilers are set on the fire for cooking a kind 
of soup, made of barley meal, the grain of which has been roasted 
previous to its being ground. It is called atole. They eat it 



206 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

without either butter or salt. Each hut sends for the allowance of 
all its inhabitants in a boAvl made of the bark of a tree." 

San Carlos mission has been "restored," a peaked shingle roof 
destroj'ing the original beautiful lines of the chapel. Within the 
church rest the remgins of President Junipero Serra, but it was not 
until 1882 that his resting-place was definitely located and suitably 
inscribed. In the vicinity of the chapel are a number of ruined 
walls. 

San Antonio de Padua (Saint Anthony of Padua) mission, in 
the present county of ^Monterey, twenty-six miles from the rail- 
road, was founded in 1771. Visit this landmark and you Avill 
become an enthusiastic advocate of mission restoration, for around 
these old ruins hovers an atmosphere of the mission days of long 
ago. The roof of the once imposing chapel has fallen. The long 
cloistered monastery adjoining is in ruins, although a number of 
the pictures(iue arches of red pressed brick still stand. Remnants 
remain of the dipping vats used for tanning, and of the old flour 
mill Avitli its crude waterwheel. The water for this wheel was 
brought in a stone-walled ditch which can still be traced. It was 
driven through a funnel-shaped flume so as to strike the side of a 
large waterwheel revolving horizontally on a shaft. 

The California Historic Landmarks League last year expended 
$1,000 in repairing San Antonio mis.sion. The great breaches in 
the adobe walls of the chapel, five feet in thickness, were filled and 
a portion of the roof frame placed. It is hoped to complete the 
work during the present year. The plans have been approved 
by well-known artists and architects who are members of the 
League's advisory committee, thus insuring intelligent and artistic 
restoration. 

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (the Archangel Gabriel) is located 
about ten miles from Los Angeles and is one of the most frequently 
visited of the missions. The chapel alone remains and is in good 
state of repair. San Gabriel was one of the richest of the missions, 
possessing at one period a hundred thousand head of cattle, besides 
horses, mules and sheep. The extensive gardens produced oranges, 
citrons, pears, figs and grapes in abundance. From four hundred 
to six hundred barrels of wine were made annually. As an exam- 
ple of the skill of the Indian neophytes, under their able instructors, 
we are told that one of the first vessels launched in California, a 
schooner of about sixty tons, was framed at San Gabriel and 
fitted for subsequent completion at San Pedro. Every stick of 
timber, after being heAvn and fitted, was brought down to the 
beach upon carts, a distance of over thirty miles. 

San Luis Obispo was the fifth mission, and was founded in 1772. 
Its present appearance is disappointing, for a modern church 
steeple has been added, removing, as has well been stated, every 
vestige of the days of long ago. It was at this mission that the 
use of tiles for roofing was first adopted, frequent fires having 
demonstrated the uselessness of thatched tule roofs. 

San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) mission was founded in the 



THE FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA. 



207 



memorable year 1776. The name Dolores Avas derived from the 
lagoon Dolores, upon the banks of which the mission was located — 
a lagoon which has long since disappeared. The buildings of 
Dolores mission formed two sides of a square without any apparent 
intention of completing the quadrangle. There were buildings for 
melting tallow and for making soap ; smith shops, carpenter shops, 
and nuigazines for storing tallow, etc. Kotzebue speaks of the 
church orchestra he heard when he visited this mission in 1812, 
which consisted of a violoncello, a violin and two flutes; these 
instruments were played by little half-naked Indians who were 
very often out of tune. A modern church adjoins the old chapel, 
contrasting the present with the past. In the old graveyard adjoin- 
ing the church twelve thousand people are said to lie buried. 




SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL, LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 

The most beautiful of the old mission churches was the chapel 
of San Juan Capistrano (St. John Capistran). This imposing 
edifice w^as erected under the supervision of an imported master 
mason. It was built of stone and mortar, the stones not being 
hewn, but of irregular size and shape. Over nine j^ears were occu- 
pied in its building. It was cruciform in shape and was 14G feet 
in length by 28 feet in width. It has been stated that this struc- 
ture could not be duplicated today, with a railroad at its doors to 
bring materials, for $100,000. It was surmounted by a bell tower 
125 feet in height. This church was destroyed by a great earth- 
quake in 1812, and was never rebuilt, ruins of the altar end still 
standing. This great temblor visited California on a Sunday 
morning, unfortunately, when mass was being celebrated beneath 



208 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

the vaulted roof of the great ehnrch, and forty were crushed to 
death. A number of the buildings of San Juan Capistrano still 
stand. The Southern California Landmarks Club has restored 
with tiles 387 feet in length of the principal building, and with 
gravel and asphalt an area of 5,250 square feet of corridors. It 
has buttressed the crumbling stone pillars which support all that is 
left of the great church. 

The fertility of the beautiful Santa Clara valley was early rec- 
ognized by the padres, and in 1777 the mission of Santa Clara 
(Saint Clara) was founded. The average crop of grain was 4,888 
bushels. The Santa Clara chapel is still well preserved, but a 
modern wooden front removes all character of the mission period. 

The two links to be next added to the chain of missions were 
within the present cities of Ventura and Santa Barbara. The first, 
San Buenaventura, was founded in 1782 ; the second, Santa Bar- 
bara, in 1786. Civilization knocks at the very doors of both these 
establishments. Business houses surround the mission at Ventura, 
and an electric car line terminates at the threshold of the best 
preserved and most widely known of the California missions, lying 
in the foothills of Santa Barbara. When Santa Barbara mission 
flourished there were within the inclosing walls two hundred and 
fifty adobe buildings. 

La Purisima Concepcion (the Immaculate Conception), fast 
being despoiled by the elements, is near Lompoc, Santa Barbara 
county. Steps are now being taken to restore the one remaining 
building. 

Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) mission exists only in memory, but a 
flourishing city bears the name of this former mission by the sea. 

Soledad mission, or more properly, Nuestra Seiiora de Soledad 
(Our Lady of Solitude), with its few crumbling walls, pleads more 
eloquently the cause of restoration than the power of words. 
These ruins are within the present county of ^Monterey, several 
miles from the town of Soledad. 

The two missions which followed, San Jose de Guadalupe and 
San Juan Bautista, are not frequently visited, located as they are 
some miles from the railroad. Nevertheless, they are well worth 
a visit, particularly the latter, situated within the quaint old town 
of San Juan, in San Benito county. 

Poor old mission San Jose. Formerly one of the most flourish- 
ing, little now remains to recall its past glory. The chapel has 
disappeared, a single, but picturesque, adobe building remaining. 

A modern church steeple was years ago added to San Juan 
Bautista 's chapel, but even the elements rebelled. A furious gale 
one winter's night leveled this hideous addition, the remainder of 
the mission escaping unharmed. The well-cared-for garden at 
San Juan, its beautiful arches and numerous relics are attractive 
features. 

From the car windows on the Southern Pacific coast road 
between San Francisco and Los Angeles, a view is had of San 
]\Iiguel mission. The exterior is plain, but the interior most inter- 
esting. 



THE FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA. 



209 



With the exception of San Antonio mission, San Fernando Rey 
de Espaiia, twenty miles north of Los Angeles, is one of the most 
interesting, owing to its untouched state of decay and the acres of 
surrounding ruins. The Southern California Landmarks Club has 
reroofed the chapel and monastery of San Fernando. 

The most prosperous of all the missions, and one of the most 
imposing architecturally, was San Luis Rey de Francia, four miles 
east of Oceanside, in San Diego county, a small station on the line 
of the Santa Fe railroad. This mission contained at one time 2,869 
neophytes, nearly one thousand more than any other mission. An 
idea of the extent of this mission can best be gained by quoting 
from Alfred Robinson, an early American traveler and writer, 




SAN LUIS BEY, SAN DIEGO COUNTY. 

who visited the establishment in 1829. He states: "The buildings 
occupied the sides of a large area, eighty or ninety yards square, 
in the center of which was a fountain with a constant supply of 
pure fresh water. The buildings around this court were divided 
into separate apartments for the missionaries, major domos, store- 
rooms, workshops, hospital, and rooms for unmarried females. 
There was also a guardhouse and storehoiLses for the grain." 
To-day the imposing church is all that remains, with the exception 
of the beautiful arches, the original number of which was thirty- 
two, which were ornamented with latticed railings. These arches 
supported the long corridor, back of which was the square inclos- 
ure, or patio, mentioned by Robinson. 

Three more missions were founded and then the chain was com- 

14 



210 



CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 



plete, stretching from San Diego to Sonoma. Santa Inez, after 
Saint Agnes, was founded in 1804. It is located within the present 
county of Santa Barbara, twenty miles from Gaviota, a station on 
the Southern Pacific coast line. The chapel is free from archi- 
tectural ornament. The monastery with its arched corridor still 
remains. 

San Rafael Arcangel, like Santa Cruz mission, has disappeared, 
its location being within the present town of San Rafael, in Marin 
county. 

San Francisco de Solano mission, the last to be founded, never 
enjoyed great prosperity. This mission is within the present his- 
toric old town of Sonoma. The remaining buildings belonging to 




SAN AKTOXIO DE PADUA. MONTEUKY COUNTY. 

this mission, not being the property of the church, were recently 
purchased with a portion of a landmarks fund raised by a San 
Francisco newspaper, and will be turned over to the State of Cali- 
fornia when the legislature convenes. The date of founding was 
1823. 

It is difficult at this present day to fully realize the vast extent 
of the mission establishments when they were in their zenith. 
Each mission was practically a city by itself, and not merely, as 
many noAV imagine, a church within which the Indians received 
religious instruction. The maxinuun number of neophytes at the 
least prosperous of the missions, Santa Cruz, was 523 ; at the most 
prosperous of the esta])lishments, San Luis Rey, 2,869 ; the average 
for the twentv-one missions being over 1,300, a total of nearly 



THE FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OP CALIFORNIA. 



211 



28,000 between 1800 and 1830, the golden age of the missions. 
These untutored savages were trained in all the handicrafts neces- 
sary for a self-supporting community. 

Wlien in 18.34 the robbery of the missions commenced, known 
under the diplomatic term of secularization, their downfall was 
rapid. They were sold for beggarly sums and the vast tracts of 
land confiscated. In a number of instances these sales were later 
set aside by the United States government, when California came 
into its possession, and the ma.jority of the remaining missions are 
still the property of the Catholic Church. 

The Franciscan missionaries were the original pioneers of Cali- 
fornia, sowing the first seeds of civilization, establishing the first 




SAxV DIEGO DE ALCALA, SAN DIEGO COUNTY. 



permanent settlements in Alta California, and enduring hardships 
almost beyond human comprehension. In restoring the missions, 
Calif ornians are not alone paying deserved honor to the sacred 
memories of those devoted padres, but are preserving the most 
imposing landmarks, both historically and architecturally, that 
exi.st within the United States. 



212 CALIFORNIA : ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

CALIFORNIA'S CALL TO THE IMMIGRANT. 



By JOHN P. IRISH. 



It is not pretended that California supplies any specific from 
the wealth of her soil and sunshine that Avill cure iinthrift, bad 
judgment, and lack of faculty, or make of the do-less a doer. But 
there is legitimate basis for the belief that here the average man 
may work in greater comfort more daj^s in the year and earn his 
bread easier than under the conditions that prevail in any other 
state or country. 

California is a winterless land. No deep frosts chill the ground; 
vine and fig tree do not have to thaw out as a preliminary to going 
into business as fruit-bearers. All stone fruits, and the fig, pome- 
granate, orange, lemon, lime, pear and apple are precocious bearers. 
The peach will bloom the second year from the pit. On the Med- 
iterranean the olive fruits meagerly at seventeen years of age ; 
here it bears a full crop at seven. In the East he must be a young 
man who plants a tree expecting to repose in its shade or to eat 
its fruit. Here old men may plant, and surely expect to enjoy 
the results. The growth of animals is not checked here by the 
withering winter, and a yearling horse is the equal of any Eastern 
two-year-old. 

But, it may be asked, is not -this precocitj^ of animate and inani- 
mate life compensated by early decay? The answer is, No. That 
rule has here its exception. The peach tree that blooms before 
the shell of the pit that bore it is decayed, bears on for thirty years, 
or more. Olive trees that furnished oil for the sacraments of the 
old Mission Fathers a hundred years ago, shade the graves of the 
gardeners who planted them, and ripen their yearly crop with 
unabated energy. 

But men fail in California? Yes. Men who buy land and hire 
it planted and worked, running it on the absentee landlord system, 
fail here and everywhere. So do men fail who run manufactures 
and trade on the same system. But men Avho take here only so 
much land as they have the means and the ability to conserve, and 
can properly till and tend with the labor of their own families, do 
not fail; for here Nature helps the industrious hand, and nowhere 
else does intelligent labor add as much to the value of the land, 
for the reason that here Nature holds one handle of the plow. 

The advantage that California has in climate where growth and 
production go on without pause is seen when the farmer finds his 
vines and trees, fields and truck-patch, producing something for 
the market every month in the year. 

What effect does the climate have on the cost of living? Where 
the pastures yield natural forage, green or dry, every day; where 
the water never freezes; where vegetable growth goes on forever, 



California's call to the immigrant. 213 

and the storage of vegetables for winter use is never necessary, 
because they are growing and fresh daily, it is natural that the 
cost of living should be less than where the summer and fall are 
spent in hard labor to store food and fuel against the long winter 
that suspends production. Beef and mutton from the ranges; 
fish from the waters; fruits and vegetables, reach market here in 
a condition for use more cheaply than elsewhere. 

1'he economic value of climate should be considered in selecting 
a home : first, in respect to the health of the family, and, second, 
in respect to the number of days yearly in which your vocation 
may be followed. California, it may be said, has no endemic dis- 
eases. Except in the high Sierra mountains the snow does not 
impede outdoor occupation. There are no tornadoes or chilling 
blasts, nor are there any sudden changes in temperature which 
imperil life. The heat in the valleys, tliough high as indicated 
by the thermometer, is not excessive enough to prevent labor in the 
fields on the hottest days ; because the air being dry, the latent heat 
of the body is rapidly eliminated, and the blood is kept cool. It 
Avill bear repetition that every day in the year is a working day. It 
follows that it costs less to live in California than in any other 
state in the Union, and the comfort of life is greater. 

The intending settler should fix firmly in his mind the topog- 
raphy of California. We have a winter season called "wet," and 
a summer season called ' ' dry. ' ' In the winter months the average 
rainfall is about twenty-five inches, distributed through four 
months of the year, and this is ample to insure abundant crops. 
California is 850 miles long. Her coast-line extends as far as 
from Boston to Savannah. At the same altitude the climate is 
practically the same in, the north as in the south of the State; 
hence San Diego in the south and the country 600 miles to the 
north produce identically the same crops. On the west slope of 
the Sierra Nevada mountains, at an elevation of from 400 to 1,000 
feet, is the famous foothill warm belt, stretching from Shasta to 
Kern county, and noted for the superiority of its fruits, including 
the fig, orange, lemon and olive. 

There is one great valley; its south end rests on the Tehachapi 
mountains, and its north end is lifted up by Mount Shasta. This 
great trough sags in the middle, and the rivers that run from each 
end escape into San Francisco bay through a common delta. From 
these rivers we name each end of the valley, thus giving the 
impression that there are two valleys. The north end of the valley 
is the valley of the Sacramento, with an area of 4,000,000 acres.' 
The south end is the valley of the San Joaquin, with 7,000,000 
acres. This valley is the seat of wheat and raisin culture. On 
the west of this great valley rises the Coast Range, in which lie a 
number of fertile and extensive valleys, such as Santa Maria, 
Sonoma, Santa Clara, Vaca and Suisun. In most of these fruit- 
growing is the principal industry. The slopes of the Coast Range, 
toward the sea, and the high Sierra, are favorable for dairying. 
To some extent, therefore, the settler is guided in the selection of 
his residence by the business he desires to pursue. 



214 CALIFORNIA: ITS PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, ETC. 

We expend annually over $7,000,000 for the maintenance of our 
public schools. The State is entirely out of debt. The financial 
report shows that the State debt is about $2,500,000, but this is only 
a form of statement. There is that amount of State bonds, but the 
bonds are owned by the State and are covered into the State school 
fund. The State pays the interest to the State school fund, which 
is annually apportioned to the public schools. If California has 
a reputation for public extravagance it is undeserved, and the 
intending immigrant need not hesitate for fear his interests will 
suffer by reason of high taxation, due to the waste of public 
money. 

It is not given to all men to be wealthy; but every original for- 
tune in this country was founded in some man's determination to 
make a living and provide for life's decline when labor is impos- 
sible. Immigration flows where a living may be made under the 
most favorable conditions. The variety of resources in California 
invites an equal variety of tastes, training and experience. If a 
man desires to mine, along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada 
mountains for 800 miles is the world's greatest gold fleld. It has 
already yielded $1,000,000,000 from the merest scratching of its 
surface. 

Horticulture here rises to the rank of a profession. Our soil and 
climate are so adapted to it that fruits from every zone may be 
grown. The clemency of our climate and its halcyon quality invite 
enterprise and ingenuity to experiment in all horticultural refine- 
ments. No equal area of the earth's surface has produced profit- 
ably a variety of the fruits of tree, vine and shrub equal to that of 
California. 

The beginning of all successful manufacture is in the transmuta- 
tion of the most abundant raw material into more merchantable or 
more permanent forms for transportation and use at a distance. 
The State is not yet sufficiently supplied with plants for drying 
and canning our surplus fruits, or for reducing them to fine jellies, 
jams, pickles, pastes, etc. Immigrants who have a taste for these 
arts will find here a growing field. 

No place presents better facilities for variety farming as it is 
practiced in the Mississippi valley. With a small tract of land 
which may be cared for by the labor of an ordinary family; with 
some orchard and vineyard bordei'cd with almond and English 
walnut trees; producing some alfalfa and grain, and carrying 
some cows, pigs and chickens, the owner will find something pro- 
duced for market every day in the year, while his family living 
will nearly all come direct from the soil he tills. 

The reader will find the subjects herein generalized treated in 
greater detail in other chapters of this book. The treatment is 
conservative, and is intended to invite that careful personal exam- 
ination which the prudent man makes who desires to better his 
condition by changing his abode. 

/ 



CALIFORNIA AT ST. LOUIS. 215 

CALIFORNIA AT ST. LOUIS. 



California's record at the St. Louis Exposition is a bright one. 
In quality and variety of natural products displayed, no state in 
the Union and no country in the world made a showing equal to 
that made by the Golden State. Many natural advantages are 
claimed for California over other favored portions of the world, 
and a study of the products from all the world, as assembled at 
St. Louis, proves the correctness of this claim. 

The bounties of nature are manifest in a generous supply of the 
fruits of the earth and the products of the mines, and in all these 
California excelled. Her cereals were as abundant and fine in 
quality, and her fruits as varied and large and luscious, as those 
from other parts of the world, while her wines, her oils, her olives, 
her pomegranates, and her figs were awarded the highest recogni- 
tion the international juries could bestow. 

And in number of awards, what other state in the American 
Union can show such a record? A grand prize means perfection, 
and California was awarded 36 grand prizes, generously distributed 
throughout all her various products and institutions, from the 
wine of her sunny hills to her common schools and university. In 
addition to these, California was awarded 196 gold medals, 243 
silver medals, and 230 bronze medals, making a grand total of 705 
prizes won by this State, on her various handiwork and products 
—a record that might be put in song and told in story as one never 
before equaled, and one which only imperial California, with its 
rapid development and multiplying resources, can hope some day 
to excel. 



LBFetig 



